Armored Spirits
by ZuttoAragi
Summary: Fate is a pain. And she loves things that are entertaining. Too bad for Shidou, he is the most entertaining thing yet.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter I**

 **Greetings and salutations my wonderful readers! I come to you with a new story, yes an actually full new story. So new I do not think I have another story with this set up. Anyway, the story is Armored Spirit, a somewhat big crossover. For now, the crossover is Hundred, Masou Gakuen HxH, Date A Live, Infinite Stratos, and a couple others that I will not reveal just yet. The main character is Shidou Itsuka, a character I have yet to use in anything. And of course it is a harem story, as all of them are. As per usual, Bakuto Masaki is along for the ride helping me put this mess together, so hopefully you all enjoy it! So be sure to let me know what you think with a review. Off we go!**

* * *

A young man with short, messy blue hair and amber eyes slept silently in his bed as a figure crept through his door.

"Wake up, Big Bro!" a girl shouted before landing on the teen with force.

"Gah!" the boy shouted before groaning as he opened his eyes to see a petite girl with red hair tied in twintails and matching red eyes sitting on him after leaping into the air. "Why'd you do that, Kotori…?"

"To wake you up, Shidou!" Kotori teased.

A petite girl with long, straight black hair and brown eyes entered the room riding a mechanical wheelchair and frowned at Kotori. "K – Kotori! You shouldn't wake Big Brother like that!"

Kotori turned to her with a pout. "Gets him up, don't it, Karen?"

"It's also possible it could kill him," a woman with long, silky black hair and dark blue eyes wearing a white and black, military officer's uniform remarked as she walked into the room, her swelling bust bouncing as she whacked Kotori on the head.

"Ow! That hurt, Reiri!"

"You okay, Big Brother?" Karen asked, knocking Kotori off of him and to the floor.

"Y – Yeah…" Shidou replied as he sat up.

Reiri nodded plainly. "Good. Breakfast is almost ready."

Shidou winced in terror. "… Who made it?"

"Don't worry. We made something simple."

"Right…"

* * *

Shidou sat at the breakfast table staring at a placid bowl of oatmeal suspiciously.

Another woman, slightly younger than Reiri and her body not quite as curvaceous, wearing a suit that hugged her sizable bust tightly and her black hair tied in a ponytail, huffed at his reaction. "Just eat it. I only made with water and the microwave." As Shidou was about to speak, the woman retaliated. "If you dare say you worry about me making even that I'll throw you out the window."

Kotori merely sniggered in amusement. "You can't blame him for being suspicious, Chifuyu."

Kotori immediately went flying out the window.

"KKKYYYAAA!"

Karen and Shidou just sat in shock before immediately starting to eat their meals.

However, as soon as Shidou tried to eat it, he realized the spoon was firmly stuck inside. Trying once more, he used all of his strength and ended up sending the bowl, meal and all, out the window.

"OW!"

"Sorry!" Shidou called out the window before turning silently to Chifuyu.

She simply stared silently. "… I'll make some toast…"

Karen weakly added, "Wh – Why don't you let Big Brother do it…?"

"… I can handle it."

Kotori, crawling back in through the window, sniggered, "I bet it'd be a burnt brick," before Chifuyu swiftly threw her own bowl of oatmeal at the redhead, knocking her right back out the window.

* * *

Eventually, Chifuyu finished preparing the toast, and Shidou and Karen both sat silently looking at the black bricks sat in front of them before poking it with a knife, to no effect.

After a moment of silence passed, Shidou began to speak. "I'll –"

"Please do," Chifuyu interrupted.

Shidou immediately dashed into the kitchen before tossing the toast aside.

"Gah!" Kotori shrieked when it whacked her as she walked in.

* * *

Chifuyu sat in disbelief as she looked at the breakfast before them all, a mixture of eggs fried to perfection, bacon that was not too crispy or too soft, and toast warmed with butter and flour.

"It's the quickest thing I could make up this morning," Shidou remarked as he sat down.

Kotori grabbed a long strip of bacon from her plate before Reiri suddenly smacked it out of her hand.

"You know better," Reiri retorted harshly.

"But I'm hungry…"

"Take it in small bites."

"… Fine…" the redhead relented before nibbling small bites from the food.

Shidou watched with mild confusion as each bite elicited a small shiver in them. "You know… if it's that bad you don't need to eat it."

Reiri immediately shook her head. "No. It's the… best way to savor the flavor," she added before taking a small forkful of egg.

"Right…"

* * *

Shidou sighed as he walked to school with the others.

Kotori then walked up beside him with a smirk. "So, wanna meet up after the first day of school?"

Karen nodded in agreement to her plan. "That would be good."

Shidou liked the idea as well. "Right. How about the diner down the street?"

Chifuyu added, "Reiri and I will head there after work with Karen, so you do the same after school."

"Right."

Shidou turned to make his way to school as three students watched him, one blonde with her hair tied up, one with short brown hair held loose, and the other with long black hair.

The blonde frowned in thought. "Geez, doesn't he seem a little TOO close to his sisters?"

The brunette added, "You said it, Ai. I heard he's a total Siscon."

Ai just nodded. "I heard that too, Mai."

"That's so lame," the black-haired girl commented.

"Same here, Mii."

Shidou frowned as he looked at the trio. "I'm not a Siscon…"

The three girls stiffened, realizing he heard them, and quickly turned and walked away.

Shidou just sighed before a figure jumped him from behind with a hug. "Gah!"

"Shidou!" a petite girl with short, light brown hair and amber eyes wearing the same uniform as the other girls shouted as she hung from his shoulder. "Start of the new school year!"

Shidou chuckled lightly as she hung on him. "And you're as energetic as ever, Hibiki… Do you ever run out of energy…?"

"Nope!" she chirped.

Shidou narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "How much sugar you have in your breakfast this morning?"

Hibiki immediately tensed and began to sweat. "Um… none?"

"You're a bad liar."

Hibiki hopped down from him and just pouted. "You're a meanie."

* * *

Eventually, the duo made their way to the high school, Raizen, and to the classroom.

Once Hibiki realized Shidou was walking into the same room as her she cheered loudly. "Yay! We're in the same class!"

"Y – Yeah…" he stuttered as he followed her in before she dragged him to a set of two seats in the back.

"Let's sit here!"

"Right." As he set his bag against the desk, a new voice got his attention.

"Shidou Hida?"

Shidou turned in surprise to a girl with short, chin-length white hair and blue eyes, a moderate bust pushing out her clothing. "Um… yes? How do you know my name?"

The girl simply looked at him a moment before sitting down.

Shidou frowned and turned to Hibiki in confusion. "… Hibiki, who is that?"

Tilting her head to see past Shidou, the girl answered, "Huh? Oh I think that's Origami. How do you not know literally the most popular girl in school?"

Giving her a deadpan look, he just answered, "Been a little busy with family matters."

"Oh… right… my bad…"

Shidou's attention was drawn away when the door opened and the teacher walked in, a woman with chin-length, curly brown hair and matching chestnut eyes behind her round glasses, wearing a formal, pink uniform.

"Oh yeah! It's Tamae!" one of the students cheered.

The woman merely laughed good-naturedly. "It's Ms. Okamine. Now, everyone take your seats."

* * *

Later in the day, Shidou sighed as the final bell rang. "So is the day over yet?"

"Not yet, ya lazy bum," a girl with short green hair teased as she smacked him on the back.

"Gah!"

Hibiki pouted to the girl in disappointment. "Miku, you really need to stop hitting Shidou like that. And besides, he's not lazy."

"Yeah right!" Miku taunted.

"I'm not, Big Sis is," Shidou argued, rubbing his back.

"Oh? Then what'd you do over break?"

"Took care of the house."

Miku twitched an eyebrow. "What about your sisters?"

Shidou shrugged and answered, "Karen is in a wheelchair. Kotori usually stayed in her room playing games while Chifuyu just laid on the couch and Reiri…" he trailed off deep in thought. "What _did_ Reiri do…? She actually wasn't home most of the time."

Tamae then spoke up to the class. "Alright everyone, that concludes classes for th –"

She was interrupted when loud sirens began to blare across the city.

"No way, another one!?" Hibiki exclaimed.

"A Spatial Quake?!" Miku shouted.

"E – Everyone, get to the shelter near the school!" Tamae called out.

As the group all stood to leave, Shidou noticed Origami heading in the opposite direction as the rest of the students. ' _Where's she going…?_ '

* * *

Shortly after, the students, directed by Tamae, filed into an escalator leading underground, Shidou holding his phone desperately.

"Come on… come on…"

"What's wrong?" Hibiki asked, noticing his expression.

"It's Kotori… she's not answering her phone…"

"So? Isn't she with your sisters?"

"No. Reiri and Chifuyu took Karen to work with them, Kotori went to school."

"Oh… well maybe her shelter just has bad reception."

"Maybe… still… just to be sure…" He poked through several screens before opening a GPS tracker, paling as he saw a blip labeled "Kotori" out front of the diner from that morning. "No!" he hollered before immediately rushing out of the shelter.

"Wh – What the…?! Shidou!"

* * *

Shidou growled as he sprinted down one of the city's many, now empty, streets. "You've got to be kidding me…! The city's about to be destroyed and she's worried about a promise!? She should know the others wouldn't go there in such chaos!"

As he ran, a massive black orb of energy erupted in the center of the city, the shock wave sending Shidou flying and tumbling. "That hurt…" He groaned as he stood up and noticed a massive crater nearby.

Making his way towards it, he gaped when he saw a person standing in the center. A young woman with long, iridescent violet hair, bright, glowing lavender eyes, and purple and gold armor with luminous lavender cloth mixed in, holding a huge sword, standing on a large golden throne. "Whoa… H – Hey! You okay?"

The girl took notice of him and frowned, slamming the sword down, slicing through the throne and sending a powerful blast of energy at Shidou, who barely dove out of the way.

"H – Hey! What was that for?!"

Suddenly, the girl stood in front of him, her sword pointed at his chest. "So… are you with them?"

"Wh – What?"

"Don't deny it. You're here to kill me."

Shidou could look at her in bewilderment, both from her beauty and from the utter insanity of the current situation. "… Eh? Why would I?"

She was about to respond when her attention was drawn to the side.

Shidou looked in the same direction and saw several women clad in black and grey armor with large swords, guns, wings, and various weaponry, flying towards the girl. "Huh? Slayers?"

The Slayers, eying the girl, launched a barrage of missiles at her, which she blocked by raising a single arm, a large dome of energy appearing that blocked and destroyed the missiles.

Shidou only watched in disbelief as she leapt into the air and sent crescents of energy at the Slayers, which they all dodged. ' _What… the hell is going on…? I… am so confused…_ ' He watched their battle continue, amazed as the armor-clad girl easily took on six women in armor, firing beams of energy, missiles, and other attacks at her, repelling them all. ' _She's so powerful… but then why is she…_ ' he trailed off, as he noticed the pained frown on her delicate features, ' _so sad…?_ ' After a moment he shook his head vigorously. ' _… And why the hell am I still standing in the middle of all this?!_ '

As he turned to run, the girl destroyed the thrusters on one of the Slayers, knocking her out of the sky. He gaped when he realized it was Origami. "T – Tobiichi!? You're a Slayer?!"

Origami, surprised to see him, almost answered him before watching the armored girl take out one of her teammates and turned her attention to her, summoning a long rifle that fired large rounds at the violet-haired woman.

"Hey!"

"Shidou, stay back," Origami urged, lobbing a grenade at the girl, who slashed it out of the air with ease.

Shidou watched in awe as the woman dove down and sliced Origami's rifle in half, the white-haired girl positioning herself between the armored woman and Shidou, drawing a small hilt from her waist that emitted a blade of energy, entering a clash of sword with the woman.

"Die!" the normally calm Origami suddenly howled with rage as she crossed blades with the woman.

Shidou gaped in disbelief as he watched before the armored woman's sword began to glow brightly. "Stop!" he shouted before reaching out, the woman sending a blast of energy at Origami, who blocked with her sword, resulting in a powerful explosion that knocked Shidou unconscious.

* * *

Shidou was not aware how much time had passed, but he was aware of a figure standing over him.

"Finally… we meet again," stated a voice that sounded distant yet familiar to the teen.

"Huh…? That voice…"

"I'm so glad. Just wait, a little while longer," the voice continued, seemingly ignoring his comments.

"Wait… who are you…?"

Not able to see the source, Shidou still felt a smile through its voice. "I won't ever let you go again. I won't ever be wrong again."

"What do you mean? Who are you…?!" Before he could get any answers, Shidou became fully conscious and aware of his surroundings, a room that smelled of antiseptic and bleach, a bed that was far too hard, and a ceiling that was all white. A room in a hospital.

After that, he snapped his eyes shut, realizing, strangely late, there was a light shining right in his face.

"Good, you're awake," a voice behind the late stated blandly.

The light going away, he saw it was a flashlight being held by a woman with long, blue-grey hair tied to the side in a ponytail, dark blue eyes with heavy bags of fatigue underneath, wearing a pink blouse that was harshly stretched by her bulging bosom, a white lab coat overtop, a tight purple skirt, long, dark brown stockings, and purple, bear-faced slippers that matched a small, worn, tattered teddy bear in her pocket, numerous stitches barely holding its aged fabric together.

Looking over her in thought, he considered her for a moment before sitting up suddenly in shock.

"You're safe, no need to freak out," she eased, although ineffectively from her fatigued affectation.

"Who… are you?"

"Reine Murasame, the ship's medical officer."

"Am I… in a hospital…?" the teen questioned, looking around.

The woman shook her head. "No. You're in Fraxinus' sick bay."

Shidou blinked weakly, trying to understand the word. "Fragi – what?"

"Fraxinus."

"Foxyinu?" Shaking his head, the recent events filed into his memory. "Wait, did I pass out? What happened to those girls?! And where's Kotori?! And has Big Sis found out about my screw up?!"

Reine simply shrugged. "I'm not really in a position to answer those questions. You'll want to speak with the vice-commander."

Shidou just frowned in growing bewilderment. "Who?" ' _Why does she sound familiar…?_ '

Reine then led Shidou out of the sick bay into a long, metal hallway, down to a double door at the end that opened to a massive room with large windows, numerous seats with screens in front of them, and a raised seat in the center. Though he was unable to take in most of this, since as soon as he walked in, he found his face stuck between two soft pillows.

' _So soft…_ '

After a moment, a rather annoyed voice urged, "How long are you going to stay zhere?"

Shidou immediately jumped back. "S – Sorry!" he apologized to a young woman with long, straight blonde hair and piercing blue eyes wearing a grey, red, and black uniform that left little to the imagination, wrapping tightly around her bulging bust. Unfortunately, his backing caused him to bump into Reine, whom he swore he heard make a strange sound. "C – Crap! Sorry!"

"Stop goofing around," a voice he recognized, though sounding much sterner and colder than normal, grumbled.

To his surprise, Shidou looked up and saw Kotori, wearing a white military-like uniform with a red coat over her shoulders and her normal white ribbons replaced with black, looking down at him with a proud smirk. "Eh? Kotori? Why are you trying to imitate Reiri?"

Her visage faltered as she stumbled in her seat. "I – I am not!"

Shidou pointed at her and answered plainly, "Explain the captain costume."

Kotori twitched an eyebrow at him. "It's not a costume! I'm the commander of the Fraxinus, you moron."

Shidou blinked in confusion and turned to the blonde he bumped into. "… It's not the beautiful blonde?"

The blonde shook her head in denial. "I am Bismarck, zhe Vice-commander."

Shidou's jaw dropped as he took in everything before turning to Reine. "… This is a joke, right?"

"No," Reine denied. "Kotori Hida is the commander of the Fraxinus."

"… Right… What the heck's going on here?"

Kotori sighed as she pulled the lollipop from her mouth with a frown. "If you'll stop talking for five seconds I'll tell you."

Shidou twitched an eyebrow at the girl's hubris. "… I'm telling Reiri and Chifuyu," he threatened, causing her to turn white with fear. "I'll even bet they are wondering where we are. Since your phone signal is showing at that diner!"

Kotori frowned in confusion before blinking in realization. "Oh? Ah, I guess that makes sense. You see, we're actually above the diner."

Shidou frowned suspiciously. "… You knew this would happen today. Didn't you."

Kotori simply shrugged. "Ratatoskr had indications it would."

"… Who?"

"The organization I work for."

"… Sis needs to know about this."

"No!" Kotori shouted, slamming a hand on her desk before Shidou grabbed his phone. "Bismarck!" she called out, the blonde snatching Shidou's phone and slamming it against the floor, smashing it.

Shidou and Kotori just stared in disbelief.

"I didn't mean break it you ninny! Now Big Sis will think something bad happened!"

"… Verdammt," Bismarck cursed.

Shidou just looked at Kotori suspiciously. "Why are you trying to imitate Big Sis?"

"I'm not!" Kotori snapped.

"Then how come you're wearing a military jacket the same way she does?"

"Coincidence!"

"Rriigghhtt…" Shidou answered incredulously.

Kotori snarled and stamped her foot, stomping it on Bismarck's. "Coincidence, dammit! Now, do you want to keep screwing around or shall I explain why you're here?"

"Um…" Shidou pointed out before he noticed her black ribbons beginning to twitch furiously, causing him to flail his hands franticly. "L – Let's get to explaining, then!" He winced when he felt his hand land on something soft, realizing it was one of Reine's soft orbs. He attempted to pull his hand away but the woman, in a movement far swifter than expected of such a tired-looking person, grasped his hand tightly in place. "… Eh?"

"Good, now maybe you'll listen," Kotori grumbled, crossing her legs confidently.

"Just tell him," Bismarck insisted, rubbing her sore foot.

Kotori turned her attention to a large screen at the front of the room, where an image of the girl in purple armor appeared. Pointing to it, she explained, "You see that girl? She's a monster known as a Spirit. One of the many monsters seemingly showing up out of nowhere on Earth."

Shidou looked between Kotori and the supposed Spirit several times. "… Just because she has bigger boobs than you doesn't mean she's a monster."

Kotori stamped on Bismarck's foot again. "That has nothing to do with it!"

"Stop stomping on my foot!" Bismarck howled.

Shidou frowned in confusion. "… Why are you suddenly a Tsun, Kotori? Are you trying to be like Big Sis Chifuyu too?"

Kotori's pigtails practically stood on end as she growled in annoyance. "Shut… up! Anyway! You know the vibration phenomena we call Space Quakes? Spirits like that girl there are the cause."

Shidou looked at the image of the girl in thought. "I see… Seriously…? One girl causes all that destruction?"

Kotori, her composure back in place, continued. "Yes. Each time a Spirit appears in our world, a Space Quake is caused and can potentially kill people. Which is why," she paused, an image of the group of uniformly adorned Slayers appearing, "the Anti-Spirit Taskforce, or AST, exists."

Shidou frowned suspiciously as he looked at the image. "Umm… pretty sure Big Sis never authorized this…"

Kotori shook her head in denial. "She didn't. The AST are commanded above Sis' head."

"… Eh?"

"DEM Industries, one of the backers of Sis' school, is the one commanding them."

"Who's DEM?"

"Deus Ex Machina Industries. One of the world's most premier mechanical and technological companies."

"Vile," Reine spat with a surprising amount of venom.

"Indeed. Anyway, to DEM and the AST, the only way they care about neutralizing Spirits as a threat is to kill them."

Shidou frowned with anger as she continued.

"But, that isn't the only way to deal with them. Which is where you come in."

"… Huh?"

"Reine will need to start training you immediately."

Reine responded by letting go of his hand and pulling his arm into her valley tightly.

Shidou snarled in capped anger. "Will you hold on a second!? This is all completely weird! And you're the weirdest one of all dammit!"

Kotori frowned and pointed her lolli at him. "The commander is taking the time to explain all of this to you personally, you should feel grateful."

"Okay, that's enough imitating Reiri, start explaining what's going on here, really!"

"Coincidence!" the redhead reflexively shouted.

"Oh shut up about that already – and let go of me!" Shidou instantly recoiled as he thought he saw the fatigued woman's lip quiver. Deciding not to push it, he just sighed. "… Fine…"

She responded by holding his arm tighter.

"So, we'll start your training tomorrow."

"Hey! You haven't even told me what that training is or why I'm the one who can stop those things! Or even how?!"

"You'll learn everything tomorrow. For now, you should just return to school like nothing happened."

After a short silence, Kotori's phone began to ring.

Seeing she was not answering it, Shidou pointed it out.

"I know, but I'm busy."

For a moment the ringing stopped, but immediately resumed.

Shidou remarked, "We both know who it is. And she will only get madder the longer you wait."

Eventually the ringing did stop before a new phone started to jingle.

Bismarck fumbled through her pocket before pulling out a smartphone and answered it.

"Put my sister on. Now," a _very_ livid Reiri demanded coldly on the other end.

Bismarck felt a shiver down her spine as she handed the phone to Kotori. "… It's for you…"

Kotori gulped and put the phone slowly to her ear. "… Hel –?" she stopped as she pulled the phone away in pain.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?"

"Uh…"

"She's trying to imitate you!" Shidou shouted as loudly as he could, hoping Reiri could hear her, which she did.

"Is that so…?"

"Nuh-uh!" the girl instantly retorted, scowling at Shidou.

"And apparently, she's captain of some weird ship!"

There was a short pause on the line. "… Ah. Now I know where to start looking for you both. Wait right there. Chifuyu, go get a couple IS."

Kotori's face went white as a sheet when Reiri hung up. "… Crap."

"You brought this on yourself," Shidou cautioned.

* * *

Shidou watched in shocked silence next to Reine as Chifuyu tugged on Kotori's twintails like a toy.

"I thought we told you this was to be over?" Reiri growled at the petite redhead, who only squawked in pain.

Shidou looked at Reiri in surprised confusion. "Wait, you knew about this?"

Reiri glanced back at him with a nod. "Yes. Ratatoskr approached us about Kotori being Fraxinus' captain."

The boy merely dropped his jaw slightly in disbelief.

Turning her attention back to Kotori, Reiri continued harshly, "However, after the last mission they sent her on nearly got her ship shot out of the sky, I quite explicitly told her she was to cut ties with them. And it seems she did not listen."

Shidou swiftly added, "She also got me near ground-zero of a Space Quake."

Reiri's ire to the girl swiftly increased. "Let me guess, you told him he's the one who can neutralize Spirits without killing them?"

"… Yes…" the girl answered quietly.

"Did you tell him how?"

"No…"

One of the women on the ship's bridge leaned to another and commented quietly, "I'm not used to seeing the Commander be so quiet…"

The other girl nodded in agreement. "It's kinda unnerving…"

Kotori paled, feeling her image she had built up to her crew shattering.

Reiri merely narrowed her eyes dangerously. "So you really have been imitating me?"

"N – No I haven – ow, ow, ow!" she argued, stopping midsentence as Chifuyu again yanked on her pigtails. "Sis, stop!"

Shidou sighed and decided to get the conversation back on track. "… So what exactly do I do to stop these Spirits then…?"

"Make them fall in love with you!" Kotori suddenly shouted.

Shidou's features went flat. "You really are imitating Big Sis!"

"She's telling the truth," Reiri added.

"Still! She's trying to get me with several girls like you do!"

"I don't do that."

Shidou just stared at her.

Kotori, trying to ignore Chifuyu's actions, continued, "You have to make the Spirits fall in love with you and then kiss them, it'll neutralize their powers and make them harmless."

"… What?"

"What?"

"How is that supposed to work?"

Reiri sighed before explaining. "It's a bit complicated, but to put it simply, you have the unique skill to absorb a Spirit's power." Reine nodded in agreement to her statement.

"… Why?"

"We don't know."

"I see… Wait, then how do you know I can do this?"

"Because you've done it before."

"… Eh?"

Reine's eyes narrowed slightly before Reiri answered, "If you don't remember then it's not important. Just know that you can do it."

"I see…"

Chifuyu gave Kotori's pigtails one last tug, causing them to curl like chips.

He just stared in bewilderment before remembering Bismarck, who just stood silently nearby. "What about Bismarck?"

"Her job is to keep me informed on Kotori's activities," Reiri explained bluntly, causing the blonde to flinch.

"Ah…"

"Speaking of the old lady…"

Bismarck twitched an eyebrow with insult. "Oi! Just because I am a mozher does not mean I'm old!"

Shidou stared at her in disbelief. "You're a mother…?!"

Bismarck turned to him in mild irritation. "Yes. Vhy?"

"You don't look old enough to be…"

The blonde's face stiffened slightly as her cheeks reddened.

"Ahem," Reiri coughed, breaking the moment.

"Y – Yes?"

"That's enough flirting."

Bismarck winced as Shidou shouted, "I'm not!"

"Right…" Chifuyu mumbled incredulously.

Sighing, he asked, "So basically I need to make that girl fall in love with me…?"

Kotori, desperately trying to straighten her twintails, replied, "Not just her, all the other Spirits too."

"Please don't whore me out like Reiri is trying to…" Shidou deadpanned.

Reiri, seemingly ignoring the accusation, responded, "If you don't, those bastards at DEM will kill them."

Shidou twitched an eyebrow before sighing in defeat. "… Fine. Though shouldn't you be able to stop it?"

Reiri groaned in frustration. "I could if the AST was under Little Garden supervision. Sadly they're under the direct command of DEM."

"I see…"

Reiri then looked to Bismarck, who was stood with shame. "Also, Bismarck, do you need any more pilots here?"

Bismarck immediately snapped attention and looked at Reiri. "Ve can alvays use more hands."

"Right. I've got a few students in mind that need field experience, as well as one or two fully trained ones that just need to get out more."

"Understood."

* * *

"This is insane…" Shidou grumbled as he flopped onto the sofa.

"Really?" Reiri asked in mild surprise.

"Yes!" he shouted before hearing a chiming sound. "What now?! Oh… a text…"

"How many phones do you have?" Chifuyu asked in annoyance.

"Reiri asked I have at least two."

"Who's it from?" Karen asked curiously as she rolled her chair up to him.

"Huh… Huh? Oh, sorry, an online friend of mine, Miza."

Kotori looked at him with faux surprise. "You have friends?" She was immediately reprimanded by Reiri with a whack on the head. "Kya!"

"Oops," Reiri weakly played it off as an accident. "Who's Miza exactly?"

Shidou just shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know much about her."

Karen frowned slightly. "Eh? … Her?"

Shidou looked at her in mild confusion. "Yeah. Why?"

Karen flinched before turning away suddenly. "Uh, n – no reason."

"Okay…?"

"So, who is Miza?" Reiri urged.

"Like I said, I don't know much about her, but I do know she sings."

"Really?" Karen asked, turning back to him with interest.

"Yeah. I don't know anything beyond that."

"I see…"

"She got worried because my phone signal vanished."

"Ah…"

Chifuyu frowned suspiciously as she walked up to him. "So this supposed girl you've never met and know nothing about has your tracking information?"

Shidou just stared.

"Idiot."

He looked at her puzzled.

"Forget it."

"Okay…? So what about Tobiichi?"

Reiri sighed and rubbed her temple in frustration.

"Apparently she's a Slayer and working for the AST."

Reiri folded her arms in consideration. "I see… That is… a predicament…"

"Yeah. This is all a mess… Why couldn't today not happen?" Shidou sighed as he considered the events of the day.

"What were you even doing there?" Kotori accused.

Shidou looked at her, very irritated. "Looking for you, ya dummy! Why else would I have been in the middle of a Space Quake?!"

"Because you're dumb?" Again the girl was smacked by Reiri. "Ugyah!"

"Ooooppss."

Shidou and Karen just watched the proceedings in exasperation.

* * *

The next day, Shidou made his way towards the school when someone suddenly grabbed him by the arm and tugged him to the side. "H – Hey!"

Origami, standing close to him, insisted in her usual monotone, "Shidou, I want to talk to you."

Shidou's eyebrows scrunched with suspicion. "… Why…?"

"About yesterday."

"… You mean that girl. The girl you attacked?"

Origami curled her lips with a visual hiss as she retorted, "That thing is a Spirit. A monster. It would be best for everyone if you just forgot what you saw."

Shidou frowned with disappointment. "That 'thing' is a living being. Not some Savage or Abyssal, or anything else like them."

"You're wrong. They're just as evil and destructive as they are. I watched as a Spirit burned my parents alive in front of me."

Shidou was taken aback by the claim, but maintained his position. "… If that's true, then she would have killed me instead of talking to me."

"Even monsters can learn to lie. Stay out of this Shidou, I'm going to make the Spirits pay for my parents' deaths. I'm going to kill them all."

"All because of the actions of one?"

"They're not human, they don't belong here." Origami did not leave an opening for rebuttal as she turned and walked away.

Shidou tried to argue but she did not hear him and just sighed in frustration. "… Well… this could be bad…"

* * *

Shidou sat silently in class as Tamae, always energetic, stood at the front of the room. "Okay everyone, we have a new teacher joining us."

To Shidou's disbelief, Reine walked into the room, looking as fatigued as ever. "I'm Reine Murasame. I teach physics. I don't really want to be here." And with that she immediately hit the floor with a loud thump.

"M – Miss Murasame!?"

Shidou just stared in befuddlement.

* * *

Later in the day, Shidou followed Reine to a room sequestered in the school where Kotori waited for him, sitting in front of a large series of monitors. "How did you become a teacher at my school…?" he asked the ever-exhausted woman.

"Don't worry about it Shin," Reine answered somewhat incoherently as she sat down.

"What? My name's Shidou."

"Is that so, Shane?"

"You weren't even trying!"

"Don't worry about it, Shirou."

Shidou sighed before taking a look into the woman's eyes before frowning. "You're really out of it… When did you last sleep…?"

"Hm… it's been about twenty years."

Shidou just looked at her in disbelief. "… No one should even be able to go that long without sleep…"

"Anyway, we're starting your training now. Okay?"

"Um… sure…"

Kotori smirked confidently and pointed to the elaborate computer. "Right, Reine, fire up the training program!"

Clicking a few keys, Reine opened up a game titled "Fall in Love: My Little Shidou".

Shidou remained silent for several moments waiting for the real program to show, but it did not. "…This is a dating sim."

Kotori nodded with a face full of pride. "Yup. It's the perfect way to learn how to deal with women."

Reine sneezed harshly, with Shidou certain he heard a word mixed in. "Reine?"

The grey-haired woman waved a hand dismissively. "Nothing, I'm fine. Just need some rest."

"Right… are you sure this is the best way?"

"I suggested a live date, but Commander Hida denied it."

"Well if I need to make them fall in love with me, experience with a real woman seems better than some stupid game."

Kotori's twintails began twitching like cats' tails. "I – It's not stupid!"

Shidou saw straight through her. "… You helped create it, didn't you?"

"She's its producer," Reine answered.

"Knew it."

The petite redhead's face sunk as Reine continued, "So, going on a date with someone who can show you how would be best."

"Agreed. Any suggestions?"

Reine raised her hand slightly.

"Um… sure. When will be good for you Reine?"

"Right now."

Shidou laughed in mild amusement. "I can't, I still have classes."

"… Saturday?"

"That should –" he began, stopping when his phone rang. "… Hello?"

Reiri, the caller in question, stated bluntly, "We're going on a trip Saturday."

"… Where?"

"An IS exposition. Charlotte is unveiling some new invention and she wants us there."

"… I see… Can I bring a date?"

It was almost possible to hear the gears in Reiri's head stop completely. "… Hah? Um… yeah, whatever."

"Great!"

* * *

"Right…" Reiri answered weakly as she hung up before turning slowly to Chifuyu, the two sitting inside of a large office. "Something is weird…"

"What?" Chifuyu asked unconcerned, taking a sip of coffee as she read several documents.

"Shidou said he's bringing a date to that trip Saturday."

Chifuyu spit her coffee harshly and coughed as she attempted to get her head on straight. "Wh – What…? Who? What?! Why?! How!? When!? The fuck!?"

"I have no idea…"

Chifuyu thought deeply for a moment. "… Could it be that Miza girl?!"

"He said he doesn't know her personally."

Chifuyu bit one of her nails in deep consideration. "Dammit… who is it…? What little hussy is trying to get to our little brother?" After a moment she noticed Reiri staring at her with an amused smirk. "What? Don't look at me like that."

Reiri just kept staring silently with a smile.

"What!?"

"Fu… nothing."

* * *

Shidou hung up the phone with light confusion. "Well… that was weird… On the bright side got a location for the date."

Reine nodded in acceptance. "Okay, Sean, you just show up. I'll handle everything."

"Right… Be sure to get a good day's rest."

"No promises…" she answered tiredly.

* * *

That night, Shidou frowned as he looked through his closet curiously. "Geez… what to wear… Hmm… Since it's at the expo maybe… this? Wait, but would Reine like something so nerdy…? … Maybe I should just wear something normal. Right. Normal." His considerations were stopped when he thought someone was watching him in his doorway, though when he turned to look no one was there. "Huh… Odd…"

* * *

"Figure it out?" Chifuyu questioned as Reiri walked into the family room with the others.

Reiri shook her head as she sat down. "No, and I don't think we need to add any extra pressure to him."

"But this is important!"

"We'll find out tomorrow either way."

"Right…" Chifuyu agreed begrudgingly before she resumed her previous activity, sharpening a long katana.

"What's Big Sister doing…?" Karen asked her larger-chested sister.

"Being psychotically overprotective," Reiri answered.

"Why…?"

"It's… complicated."

"I see…"

* * *

Shidou, Reiri, Chifuyu, Karen, and Kotori, who had her standard white ribbons in her hair, made their way to a massively large building with thousands of people walking in and out of its doors, Shidou gulping nervously.

Eventually as they approached, the group saw Reine, who nodded affirmatively to herself before walking up to them. "Ah, so I had the right place in mind."

"Ah, Reine!"

Chifuyu just stared incredulously. "… Her?"

"Y – Yeah…" he answered sheepishly, worried by Chifuyu's expression.

Chifuyu just continued staring, Reine tilting her head slightly in thought. "… She's your date…?"

"Yeah…? Is that a problem?"

"She's older than you."

"Meaning she's in a position to teach me what a good date is."

Reine nodded firmly and grabbed his arm, pulling it into her cleavage, which was far more exposed than normal with her low-cut dress.

"… Cougar…" Chifuyu growled, Reine ignoring her and keeping her focus on Shidou.

"Just let it go," Reiri recommended, Chifuyu relenting unwillingly.

"Right…"

As the group walked inside, Karen looked around at all the different displays, statues, and videos showing various styles of armor, weaponry, and different abilities.

Seeing the girl's response, Reiri could only smile. "Wonder of technology, aren't they?"

Shidou pouted slightly. "The Objects seem more impressive to me. And more powerful."

Chifuyu, still irritated by Reine's presence, childishly shot back, "Those giant hunks of metal are practically useless."

"Why? They seem pretty useful to me."

"They're too slow and cumbersome to face off against Abyssals or Savages."

"They have huge guns and heavy armor.

Reiri raised a hand between the two, frowning. "That's enough you two. No need to bicker. We're here to support Charlotte, anyway, not to discuss something like that."

"U – Understood," Shidou answered with slight worry.

"Shidou!" an excited voice called out.

Shidou turned with surprise to see Hibiki and Miku running up to him. "Huh? Hibiki? Why are you here?"

"Miku wanted to see the IS up close," the chestnut-haired girl answered innocently.

"Ah."

"Miku?" Karen asked with sudden excitement.

"A friend from school."

"Oh…"

Miku pouted as she looked at Hibiki. "Don't put it like that, Hibiki, you make me sound like some mecha freak."

"But it's true!"

Shidou looked away from the two as he noticed a frown on Reine's face. "Reine?"

She hummed curiously, turning her attention to him.

"You alright?"

"Fine," she answered, tightening her grip around his arm.

Hibiki and Chifuyu, however, also noticed this.

Kotori snickered mischievously. "Jealous," which earned her a hard smack from Chifuyu. "Kya!"

Shidou sighed in response. "Can you please stop fighting…? You're like cats… and we are in public."

Reiri folded her arms incredulously. "Indeed. It's almost like you're still a kid Chifuyu."

"… Take that back."

"See?"

Chifuyu just sighed. "… Tch… Let's just go…"

"Okay!" Hibiki chirped with excitement.

"Too many…" Reine muttered quietly.

"Huh?" Shidou questioned, not properly hearing her.

"Nothing."

* * *

The, now much larger, group spent nearly an hour just wandering around the exposition looking at the exhibits.

Shidou sighed with mild disappointment. "Don't they do anything except IS?"

Reiri responded, "They're our most effective weapon currently besides the Valkyries."

"The what?"

"They're special Slayers whose voices have the ability to freeze the Savages in place when they sing at specific frequencies."

"I see… I still think Objects would be better…"

"Enough. All discussion of which is better is forbidden. You two can butt heads about that later."

"… But you –"

"No."

"But –"

"No."

"… Let's just go… Is there a bathroom here somewhere?"

Hibiki pointed to a long hallway nearby. "I think I saw the boy's room just around the corner down that hall."

"Ah, thanks!" he replied before pulling his arm out from Reine's grasp and ran down the hall.

"… He turned the wrong way."

"Don't worry," Reiri eased, "it's just IS storage."

"Ah."

* * *

Shidou grumbled as he walked down a maze of hallways. "Great… I'm lost… Just great…" As he continued walking, he noticed a larger than normal door. "Hm… maybe this one?" Pushing the door open, its edge scraping on a hard floor, he looked inside to see it was completely empty. "Uh… Right, light switch…" He walked through the room, feeling for the wall. "Light switch… light switch…" He grunted lightly when he walked into a cold metal surface. "Was that… a sink?" His eyes adjusting to the darkness, he gaped slightly when he realized it was, in fact, not a sink but a large, collapsed, folded up suit of mechanical armor. "… Ah… IS storage."

Turning to leave, Shidou stopped when he felt a cold hand on his shoulder.

* * *

"You're his date?" Hibiki asked, looking over Reine curiously. "That's so weir –" the girl commented before stopping when they all heard a characteristic scream from Shidou in terror.

Reine, in an unexpected reaction, sprinted away, Reiri and the others following swiftly after, shocked to find Shidou who was clad fully in the armor.

"Help! This thing attacked me!"

"The hell!?"

"Help!"

"Alright, alright," Reiri muttered. "Quit shrieking."

"But this thing is wearing me!"

"How'd you even get in there?" she asked, walking up to him.

"I didn't! It pulled _me_ in! I was about to leave and it grabbed and ate me!"

"That doesn't happen you moron," Chifuyu chastised.

"It did!"

Reiri pushed a button on the back of the machine, causing it to essentially spit him out.

Rather than hitting the floor, Shidou ended up landing right in Reine's bosom. "Safe now…"

Hibiki then swiftly grabbed Shidou and tried to pull him away from her. "Cut it out! You're suffocating him with those airbags!"

Shidou swiftly pulled his face from her cleavage and gasped for air. "Air!"

Reine just pouted. However, he stopped and froze when he felt his hand on something very soft. He immediately pulled his hands away, Reine pouting slightly.

Chifuyu walked up to him, irritated. "Enough nonsense, tell the truth."

"I am!" he argued desperately.

Reiri broke up the argument by pointing out, "Charlotte should have access to the security footage, we'll ask her."

* * *

Shortly later, Shidou, Reiri, Chifuyu, Kotori, Reine, Hibiki, Miku, and Karen stood amongst a large crowd of people in front of a large stage with a dark purple curtain.

Shidou looked around in surprise. "That's a lot of people. Why though?"

"Charlotte's presentation," Reiri explained.

Shidou remained silent for a moment. "… Think it's a new Object design?"

Reiri smacked him on the head.

"Ow!" Grumbling, he looked into the crowd again. "There's a lot of people here to see Charlotte's little invention. Actually, where is she?"

"No clue," Chifuyu replied. "She'll be presenting Mei-Mei in a bit. We can talk to her when she's done."

"The hell's Mei-Mei?"

"The name of her invention."

"And that is…?"

"She hasn't told anyone," Reiri answered.

At that moment, the curtain opened and a young woman with long, knee-length, light brown hair, tied back in a braided ponytail, a black and yellow bow resembling cat ears atop her head, her fringe stopping just above her dark purple eyes, her bangs framing her face and ending just atop her generous breasts, wearing a black and white maid uniform with a large gap in the chest exposing her cleavage, a long yellow tie falling between their valley, small gaps on her hips, large white gloves, a frilled white skirt, and long, thigh-length, white and black boots, stepped out and bowed with an apologetic smile. "Please be patient, Professor Diamandius will be out soon. Sorry everyone, she'll only be a few more minutes." The woman then stepped back behind the curtain.

Shidou blinked in surprise. "Didn't know she hired a maid. I didn't know she could afford one…"

"Yeah…" Chifuyu remarked in confusion.

Moments later, a young-looking girl with long, knee-length, wavy, messy purple hair, her fringe parting over her forehead and stopping above her light brown eyes, the top of her hair tied back in a tuft, round, frameless glasses sitting over her eyes, a lollipop stick sticking from her lips, wearing a plain white lab coat with a black and yellow dress underneath with white frills, a matching black and yellow tie, a white dress shirt under that, and thigh-high black stockings with yellow trim stepped out with a smile. "Sorry for the wait. But I hope you all liked my new invention."

Shidou furrowed his brow in thought. "Huh? But we d – oh… She made a maid."

Charlotte snickered lightly before motioning to the side, the curtain pulling aside to reveal the brown-haired maid once more, standing calmly with a smile. "Let me introduce you to Mei-Mei. The world's first fully functional android."

"Called it…"

Chifuyu gaped slightly in surprise. "Oh my god… she went and made herself a friend…" She was suddenly knocked back as a pen came flying at her forehead. "Gah!"

Shidou looked at her with a flat expression. "To be fair, you deserved that."

"So, what do you think?" the petite inventor asked out to the audience.

Shidou immediately raised a hand. "Can we have her at our house so I don't have to clean on my own?"

"Any _legitimate_ questions?"

Shidou lowered his hand with a pout. "That was one…"

Charlotte continued looking out into the crowd, one man raising his hand with a snicker.

"How is she in bed?" the man asked with a wry grin, causing most of the women in the audience as well as Shidou to scowl deeply at him.

Charlotte kept her same expression before turning to Mei-Mei. "Mei-Mei, why don't you show him by putting him in a bed for a while?"

Mei-Mei, still smiling politely, suddenly dashed forward at high speed, and slammed her knee between the man's legs, sending him flying into a wall.

Charlotte chuckled confidently before addressing the crowd. "Any other stupid questions?"

Shidou brought up his again. "… Can you please let me have her help take care of my home?"

"No," she answered snappily.

Mei-Mei could only snicker in amusement. "Fufu, why? You want to first?"

Charlotte twitched an eyebrow before pressing a button on a remote she held.

"Owie!" Mei-Mei squeaked as she was hit with a light zap.

Shidou just stared in disbelief while Reiri sighed in exasperation.

* * *

Shortly later, after the crowd had dispersed, Charlotte stood with Shidou and the others along with Mei-Mei beside her. "So, what's up?"

"Out of control Uchiganes," Shidou answered swiftly.

Reiri then slapped a hand over his mouth. "It seems Shidou is a Slayer."

Shidou pulled her hand down with a frown. "How? That thing grabbed and ate me!"

Charlotte tilted her head in befuddlement. "What?"

Chifuyu then urged, "Look at the security footage from the IS storage room."

Charlotte frowned in even further confusion. "… Why was he in there? I thought he liked Objects?"

"I got lost looking for the bathroom."

"They're in completely opposite directions," she answered with a layer of sarcasm.

"How was I supposed to know that?"

Charlotte just sighed with a shrug. "Whatever. Mei-Mei –"

Mei-Mei proceeded to hand her a tablet with a video feed loaded. "Already done."

"Thank you. See? She's efficient too." Shidou and the others just waited as Charlotte watched the footage with confusion. "I don't understand. How is this possible?"

Shidou replied desperately, "I don't know! It got up and ate me!"

Charlotte looked back at the image and then put a hand on her chin. "Let me examine the IS that did it and I'll let you know what I find."

Shidou nodded in agreement. "You do that. Reine, come on, we'll go get something to eat."

Reine nodded and grabbed his hand, the duo leaving the room.

Charlotte just stared silently for a moment. "That was odd."

"You have no idea…" Reiri groaned.

* * *

Outside the room, Shidou and Reine walked around the exhibition in frustration. "There has to be a restaurant or something here somewhere… But where?"

Reine just watched as he walked ahead before he harshly bumped into someone.

"Gah!" he grumbled as he stumbled back. "S – Sorry…" he stammered before looking at the person he ran into, an attractive young woman with dark, chocolate brown skin, with short, messy blonde hair, bright green eyes, and a bulging pair barely hidden by her white and red, flame-patterned bikini top, along with a skimpy pair of jean shorts, and knee-high brown boots.

"Hey! Watch it!" the dark-skinned beauty shouted, before noticing his reddened expression. "What's wrong with you?"

"N – Nothing!" he stammered, Reine frowning in disappointment.

"Okay…?"

Reine pulled on his sleeve. "Shidou, food…"

The girl immediately got an excited glint in her eyes. "Ah! Then you should come to my stall. I'm Ikumi Mito, best meat dishes here!"

Reine was not very amused, though Shidou did not notice. "Really? Sounds like a good idea. Reine?"

"Sure…" she answered quietly.

"Cool! Right this way you two!" Ikumi urged, before noticing them holding hands. "Wait, so are you two on a date?"

Shidou stiffened and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Y – Yeah."

Ikumi gained a wide smirk.

"Wh – What…?"

"Nothing, let's go!"

* * *

After leading them to a small food stall on the edge of the expo building, Ikumi shouted inside, "Oy! Let's prepare one premium Couples' Bowl!"

Reine smiled slightly as she and Shidou sat down, waiting only a scant few minutes before a massive bowl of meat, rice, and vegetables was slammed down in front of them.

"It's huge!" Shidou exclaimed.

"Of course!" Ikumi proclaimed proudly, thumping a hand over her chest, causing her globes to shift in her top.

His excitement quickly gave way to dread. "… How much does it cost…?"

"Fifteen hundred yen."

"That's… a pretty decent price." After a short pause to admire the dish's preparation, Shidou took a large bite of the mixed ingredients and his eyes shot wide. "Whoa! This is good! The heating is good and the seasoning of the meat as well."

Reine nodded silently in agreement.

Ikumi smirked happily. "Thanks! If I'm lucky I'll get into Totsuki. It's actually one of the reasons I'm here too."

Shidou looked at her curiously as he ate hurriedly. "What's Totsuki?"

"Cooking school," Reine answered, taking a pause between mouthfuls.

Ikumi huffed in response. "Not just _a_ cooking school, one of the premier culinary academies perched within Little Garden, meaning I'll get to sell my family's supreme, A5 Grade meat to a bunch of wealthy and hungry military kids."

"Really? Huh, my sisters work on Little Garden."

"Seriously? Who are they?" she asked before taking a drink from a bottle of water.

"Reiri and Chifuyu Hida."

"WHAT!?"

Shidou lurched back at her sudden shout.

"You're their little brother!?" she exclaimed, leaning forward suddenly, her orbs shifting just in front of the teen's face.

"Y – Yes. Why?"

Ikumi grabbed his hand tightly and pulled it towards herself, unwitting burying it in her valley. "Can I meet them?"

* * *

 **And fin! Thus ends the first chapter of Armored Spirit. If you enjoyed it be sure to leave a review letting me know. If you were confused, unsure, or simply have questions about anything leave a review with your query and I will address what I can in the next reviewer response. Though do be aware if your question pertains to future story events or anything spoiler related it will not be answered in full here, so you would do better with a PM. If you did not enjoy the chapter, leave a review with your issues if you insist, though do try to have proper English skills. That said, this chapter is done, so until next time, bye-bye!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter II**

 **Greetings all! Yes, finally something other than Gremory's Guardian: Reborn. I am sure some of you wanted something different, so here it is. Hopefully everyone enjoyed the previous chapter, seems at least a few people did, which is always good. And I hope you enjoy this one as well, so be sure to leave a review letting me know if you did. That said, I would like to thank Bakuto Masaki for his support in, well, almost all of my stories at this point, and in the future. Anyway, enough jibbering, on to the reviewer responses!**

 **Fortitude: Since I often introduce so many it could get rather time consuming, it's easier, for me at least, if people just say which ones they don't recognize and I'll just say what series they're from.**

 **Now.**

 **Certainly.**

 **Well this is weird, my reviewers are talking to each other in the reviews. Reviewception? Do dead memes still work?**

 **Travis Moon: What do you mean? As far as I know, in my stories he does, or are you referring to how he interacts with them in canon? Ah, you mean the dating sim part. I can't make any guarantees on that one, since it's a rather big part of the series, but I can promise it won't be _as_ invasive as it is in the actual series.**

 **Guest: Just name the ones you don't recognize.**

 **Saberfang Orcalodon: Um... thanks? I think.**

 **Skull Flame: Yeah, I kinda hate Ichika too. Shidou is at least tolerable.**

 **Okay?**

 **:) Who knows.**

 **Reiri Hida is from Masou Gakuen HxH/Hybrid Heart Magias Academy Ataraxia.**

 **Oh you can count on it.**

 **FanFictionHunter: There will, I just usually put the rating lower until the sexy stuff shows up to cast a wider net of readers.**

 **Aevun: It's actually Mio, and you and I are of one mind there.**

 **Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov: First, that's one hell of a username.**

 **Don't worry, I like big reviews. Just don't make it a pointless word salad. As for mixing up the series, if there's characters you don't know, name them and I'll tell you where they're from.**

 **Well here's the next chapter!**

 **RizomataNyan: Yes, KanColle is in this story.**

 **With how many new characters often show up in my stories, that could wind up being half the chapter.**

 **Darkkon27: Glad you like it. Hopefully the second chapter is just as fun.**

 **Dumah the Fallen: Once I start doing lemons I'll raise the rating.**

 **Guest: Bismarck is from Kantai Collection.**

 **Guest: He's not going to be a super cook, but he is quite good.**

 **Unknown Guest: That's why I used Shidou as the MC of this instead of Dumb, Dumber, or Dumbfuck.**

 **Yeah, Hayato isn't supremely dense.**

 **Yeah, Kizuna is a bit... odd, I'll admit.**

 **Here's the funny thing, it's been revealed Ichika isn't really all that dense. He's just pretending he is because he's worried, rightfully so, that if he picks one of the girls, the rest will try and kill him and her, so he's playing dumb hoping they eventually lose interest in him. Whether that's better or worse than him just being stupid is up to you to decide.**

 **Never fully seen Raildex (Nice name for the two) but I'm aware Touma is... dumb. And that, my friend, is a Tsundere. Sadly the worst kind, the violent Tsundere.**

 **He simultaneously is and isn't.**

 **Phew! That was a lot! Not that I'm complaining, keep it coming, I love the reviews! Anyway, enough babbling, on with the show!**

* * *

Ikumi grabbed his hand tightly and pulled it towards herself, unwittingly burying it in her valley. "Can I meet them?"

"S – Sure…" he stammered.

* * *

Chifuyu and Reiri just stared at Shidou as he stood with Ikumi and Reine.

"Sh – She said she wanted to meet you…" the blue-haired teen stuttered with worry.

Reiri frowned incredulously. "She did, did she…? For what reason…?"

Shidou blinked in thought before turning to the tanned beauty. "… Why _did_ you want to meet them…?"

"To get into their cooking school!" she shouted excitedly.

Reiri and Chifuyu both frowned somewhat at that declaration. "… I… see…" the older of the two muttered.

Shidou added, "She's pretty good. I had some of her meat when me and Reine got something to eat."

The duo instantly gave him a sharp look.

Reine somewhat defended him. "He means her food."

Chifuyu's eyes focused on the tan-skinned girl's voluptuous body. "… Are you certain?"

"Yes. Her food is quite good."

Shidou, however, gulped as he used every ounce of his self-control to keep his focus off the wonderful pressure wrapped around his arm.

"So can I join?" Ikumi reiterated.

"Her cooking is good, Big Sis," Shidou added, seeing the uncertainty on his sisters' faces.

"Right…" Chifuyu grumbled.

"… I'll see about getting her in," Reiri remarked in thought.

Ikumi cheered happily, Shidou's face turning red as her bust bounced with her.

"Ahem!" Chifuyu coughed, the attention of both.

Shidou, catching the intent, separated himself from Ikumi.

Reine smiled and took the opportunity, wrapping her arms around Shidou's arm.

Reiri just sighed before turning to Charlotte. "Well? What's up with the IS?"

Nodding, Charlotte explained, "The unit was activated externally, something caused it to reach out and grab him. But after that, it responded to him like anyone else."

Shidou twitched an eyebrow at that. "… I blame Tabane."

"Why don't we put him in a separate IS and see if he can use it as well? Then we'll know if this is just an isolated incident or not," Reiri suggested.

Charlotte nodded in reply. "Of course." Pointing to another folded up suit of armor, she added, "Here, another Uchigane. Let's see if he can actually use it."

Reiri then turned to the Uchigane nearby and explained, "Walk up to it, put your hand on it, and say Equip."

Shidou nodded and stepped towards the machine and put his hand on it, releasing a quiet sigh of relief when nothing happened and then stated calmly, "Equip." Instantly the panels of the armor shifted and wrapped around him, Shidou standing in the armor seconds later. "Just great…"

"So you really can use an IS…" Charlotte noted in shock.

"But I'm not a girl!" he protested before he noticed Reiri staring at him deep in thought. "Sis… what are you thinking…?"

"Hm? Oh, nothing."

Chifuyu glanced at Reiri whom nodded in return. "Looks like you'll be getting Slayer training then."

Shidou frowned slightly as he looked at the Uchigane as he stepped out. "… Can I keep a unit then?"

"We'll get you one," Reiri retorted.

Shidou just furrowed his brow with frustration.

Reiri then turned to Charlotte. "Charlotte, could you watch Karen for a bit? And close the door behind you."

"Sure," Charlotte answered before wheeling Karen out of the room.

"H – Hey!" Karen argued.

"Come on, be a good girl," Charlotte urged before the door closed.

Turning her attention to Ikumi, Reiri added, "And you, Mito, you need to leave as well."

Ikumi nodded in understanding. "Okay, I need to get back to my stall anyway. Later!" she cheered and waved to Shidou as she left.

"Okay…" Shidou muttered in confusion. "Why'd you do that, Sis?"

Reine raised an eyebrow in thought. "… Foursome?"

Chifuyu huffed at the sleepy-looking woman. "You wish. No, it's because there's something you need to know since you'll be a Slayer, and Reine already knows about it."

"… And that is…?" Shidou asked cautiously.

Reiri proceeded to explain. "The IS' 'purpose', that is, as a show of each nation's technological advancement, is a lie."

"… Eh?"

Reiri explained bluntly, "The IS' true purpose is to defend Earth."

"… Oh. So they were made to fight Nova?"

Chifuyu shook her head in denial. "No. The Pandoras fight them, rather effectively I'd say. No, they fight a different threat. And it's not other humans."

Reiri then pointed to the screen behind her and brought up images of large, black and yellow, mechanical, insect-like creatures and similarly sized vessel-like monsters.

Shidou widened his eyes as he stared at the images with shock.

"These are enemies known as Savages and Abyssals. They are invading our world from another. Objects are far too slow and cumbersome to take them on. The Infinite Stratos is the only weapon that can defeat them. We've kept it secret from the general populace, but this is the IS' true purpose."

Shidou gulped heavily. "… I am going to die…"

Chifuyu folded her arms with a huff. "If what that psycho did to you worked, you could be one of the strongest Slayers we have."

The teen tilted his head curiously. "Who did what to me?"

Chifuyu furrowed her brow, though Reiri raised a hand to interrupt her. "Forget it. The point is, you won't die so long as you don't be stupid."

Chifuyu gave her a sister a flat, deadpanned look. "Right… because Shidou would _never_ do something stupid…"

Twitching an eyebrow, Reiri retorted, "… Just… try not to get yourself killed and you should be fine…"

Shidou frowned with worry before pointing to the mech behind him. "… Can I take this Uchigane with me?"

"Why?"

"Spirits and the rogue Slayers that hunt them remember?"

"I doubt anyone else knows about your capabilities to be a Slayer, you should be fine."

Reine frowned with worry as Shidou sighed in defeat before nodding and leaving the room. She then turned to Reiri and Chifuyu with a rather venomous glare. "If he gets hurt because of them, I am breaking both of your legs."

Chifuyu shot back, "He's not a Spirit and they don't know he has the potential to be a Slayer, they have no reason to target him."

Reine clenched her fists somewhat before sighing, under her breath muttering, "That didn't stop them before…"

"Come again?"

"Nothing. I'm going to go find Shin. And remember, he gets hurt and your legs get broke."

* * *

Shidou sighed as he walked down a hallway before suddenly finding his face in soft darkness ' _… Oh crap…_ ' He slowly looked up and saw a woman with long, straight silver hair that splayed out at the ends, and bright blue eyes wearing a low-cut black top with pink accents that exposed the vast majority of her sizable bosom, a short, pleated, pink miniskirt, a white lab coat, and knee-high black boots.

"Oh, hi there," the woman muttered, somewhat lost in her thoughts.

"H – Hello…"

"Ahem," Reine huffed as she approached the two, causing a heavily blushing Shidou to back away immediately.

"I – It's not what it looks like! It was an accident, I swear!"

The silver-haired woman pouted slightly. "Aaww…"

Reine sent the woman a deep frown. "Shin, let's go. I want to see what else is here."

"O – Okay…" he answered before walking away with her, the silver-haired woman behind them pouting. "No need to be mean…"

Reine huffed, "With you, there is, Twoerle."

Shidou blinked in surprise. "You know her, Reine?"

"Unfortunately. However she isn't important."

Twoerle's eyes began to water with despair. "Hheeyy… I'm standing right here! And I'm pretty sure I'm pretty important."

Suddenly, the group were distracted by loud beeping, Twoerle paling as she pulled a device from her cleavage.

"Um… what is that…?" Shidou questioned.

"An alarm… but if it's going off… then that means…!"

Suddenly, one of the building's walls exploded violently.

"Oh what now…?" Shidou groaned before he turned to watch a large, humanoid reptile with black armor emerge from the dust and sniff the air with a snarl.

 **"Mm… Twintails… I smell them…"**

Reine immediately frowned and turned to Shidou. "Shin. Run."

"Wh – What the hell is that thing…?!"

The beast then looked towards Reine and the others before he was distracted as Kotori stumbled into the room. With a low growl he walked towards her.

"No, Kotori!" Shidou shouted, helpless to stop the monster.

The creature licked its lips as it reached for Kotori, only to growl as several bullets hit it in the face. **"Piss off!"** he snarled as he turned to Chifuyu before snapping his fingers, causing several gray-skinned humanoids and insectoid monsters to appear in flashes of light. **"Deal with them."**

Chifuyu did not flinch as she fired at one of the black-haired girls with cannons on her arms, hitting the inhuman being between the eyes. "How the hell are there Abyssals and Savages here…? What the hell is that thing…?"

Shidou clenched his fists as he tried to figure out what to do, before he saw an inactive Uchigane nearby and steeled himself before running at it.

The monster grabbed Kotori by the neck as several thick tendrils emerged from his back. **"You're not really my type, but your energy will do."**

Chifuyu hissed before continuing to fire, all of her shots bouncing off of the beasts surrounding the monster. "Dammit! Why aren't there any Slayers here?!"

"There's one!" Shidou shouted as he rushed in, equipped with the Uchigane, unsheathed its long katana, and sliced several of the Abyssals and Savages to pieces before charging at the monster, tackling it through a wall. "Don't touch my sister you bastard!"

It growled as it stood. **"You're in the way, stupid brat!"** howled before lightning sparked around it that then shot at Shidou.

Shidou dodged aside and swung, severing all of the monster's tendrils.

 **"Gyah! Damn you!"** The monster snarled before swinging a claw at Shidou, who used his katana to block its claws. **"Lizardgildy of the Ultimagil won't be defeated by some useless male! So die and let me enjoy the humans here!"**

"Not happening!" Shidou growled, kicking Lizardgildy away, distracted when he heard a familiar scream and turned to see Ikumi ensnared in tendrils coming from a Savage's claw. "Ikumi!" He kicked away from Lizardgildy, cutting the tendrils to free Ikumi before slicing the beast in half, catching Ikumi as she fell. "You okay, Ikumi?"

"Y – Yeah…" she mumbled before realizing who the one in the armor holding her was, "wait, Shidou…?"

"It's a long story and I don't really have time to explain. Just get out of here!" Setting her down, he swiftly turn and punched one of the approaching Abyssals in the face, knocking it back and killing it. "Now get somewhere safe!"

"R – Right…!" Ikumi stammered, scared and confused before running off.

Lizardgildy huffed as Shidou was occupied killing Abyssals and Savages before launching tendrils out of his back in all directions, grabbing everyone he could, including Chifuyu and Reiri. **"Tch. I'm just supposed to collect energy, so I may as well collect as much as possible!"**

"Oh no you don't!" Shidou howled, grabbing an Abyssal as it shot at him and turned its arm, hitting Lizardgildy in the chest and causing him to drop everyone and retract his tentacles as he hit a wall.

 **"Gah! You annoying brat!"** Lizardgildy started before stopping in his tracks and gaping as he saw Reine, the stuffed bear in her pocket and began approaching her.

Reine's placid face changed to one of disgust as she inched away from the beast.

 **"A grown woman holding a doll… such a wonderfully rare sight!"**

"Shit!" Shidou cursed as Lizardgildy sent many of his appendages rushing at Reine, who was too slow to react, though Shidou managed to intercept and sever most of them.

 **"Move it! I won't let you take this from me, damned human!"**

"You're not going to touch her!" Shidou howled with venom as he grabbed the few remaining tendrils, swung Lizardgildy up over his head, and smashed him into the ground, followed by stomping on the beast's head, though it did not kill him.

 **"You damned br –!"** Lizardgildy cursed before a powerful explosion hit him from behind, sending him flying.

Shidou turned in surprise and saw Bismarck, a large rifle in her hand and massive cannons flanking her, entered the area. "How annoying. Zis vas supposed to be my day off."

The reptilian monster growled as he stood, burns along his scaled back. **"How annoying. I'll be sure to take my time draining you."**

Bismarck twitched an eyebrow before raising her rifle and firing, hitting Lizardgildy between the legs.

 **"Gehack! Y – You bitch…!"** he growled as he stumbled back. Pointing to her, he threatened, **"You'll pay for that one day!"**

"Not while you're around!" Shidou growled before swinging from behind, cleanly slicing off Lizardgildy's head and causing him and the monsters he summoned to all collapse to the ground and vanishes in bursts of light. Shidou stumbled back, panting heavily as his mind caught up with the events that just occurred, causing his eyes to shoot wide as he looked down at his hands. "… H – How'd I do all that…?" He then glanced down to the side and noticed a small blue crystal on the ground.

Reine stared in surprise before Reiri suddenly shouted, "Shidou, get out of the IS befo – !"

She was interrupted as a woman nearby shouted in disbelief, "Oh my god… That Slayer is a boy!"

"Whoa, it is!" another exclaimed.

"Damn…" Chifuyu cursed.

Thinking quickly, Reiri began to urge, "Don't say yo –"

"Excuse me, what's your name?" another woman asked.

Shidou, confused, surprised, and exhausted, just responded automatically. "Sh – Shidou Hida…"

Reine sent a dark glare to Chifuyu and Reiri.

"Fuck…" Chifuyu cursed in exasperation.

* * *

Sometime later, Shidou and the others sat in a private room within the exhibition hall, the blue-haired teen sighing heavily.

"Not. Even. A day," Reiri growled.

Shidou, fatigued and perturbed, rebutted, "There's no telling what that thing would've done, I had to do something!"

"Still! You could have put pads in your shirt or something!"

"I didn't have time for that!"

Reiri just sighed in frustration.

"He was going to hurt Kotori and Reine, I couldn't waste any time to help them!"

Annoyed, Chifuyu added, "Well now we have more to worry about because of this."

Shidou slumped into his seat, sighing. "I'm sorry…"

Reiri waved a hand and retorted, "Whatever. It was going to come out eventually I suppose. I was hoping it would be when you're on Little Garden though…"

The conversation ended abruptly when Shidou's cellphone began to ring, everyone in the room looking at him.

Trying to ignore the stares, Shidou answered it carefully. "… Yes…?"

"Is it true?" Origami, on the other end, asked bluntly.

Shidou sat in silent shock before suddenly shouting, "… How'd you get my number?!"

"Doesn't matter. Answer my question," she demanded.

"… Is _what_ true?"

"That you're a Slayer."

"… No…? … Why…?" he answered unconvincingly.

"It's all over the news."

"… Oh…"

Twoerle sat nearby blissfully eating some meat skewers.

"… Crap…" Shidou groaned as he hung up.

Gulping it down, Twoerle asked with a smirk, "So was that your girlfriend?"

Shidou just shook his head heavily. "No, she's a friend from school. At least, I thought she was a friend. Actual, now that I think on it… I hardly really know her… But she seems to know me really well…"

Twoerle cooed with excitement. "Oooohhhh, Shidou has a secret admirer!"

"Or stalker…" Reine stated coldly.

"Same thing!" she shot back before her phone began to ring. Fumbling with it, it went to voicemail as a loud, energetic voice on the other end shouted excitedly.

"Well, well?! Did it work?!"

Twoerle slowly looked up with despair, the others staring at her dangerously, so she answered the phone and put it on speakerphone.

A very angry Chifuyu greeted, "Hello, Tabane."

The voice on the other end, Tabane, hitched before weakly trying to sound robotic. "… The number you have reached has been di –"

Reiri cut her off and threatened, "Tabane, don't try it or we won't send you anymore of Shidou's meat buns."

"ANYTHING BUT THAT!" she begged with desperation.

"Then start talking!" Chifuyu growled.

Tabane remained silent for a moment.

"Well?"

"… I forgot?"

"Then I forgot where to send you fresh meat buns," Reiri threatened.

Tabane pouted with a deep whine. "… Do I really have to say it? I'm sure you know."

Chifuyu demanded, "Say it with your own mouth or it's never tasting Shidou's cooking again."

"Okay, okay! Yes… You two are so mean…"

"You're the one who had an IS snatch our brother!"

"Well yeah. I had to make sure my changes to the system worked somehow. So did they? Did they?!"

Reiri narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "… What changes…?"

"The changes to make all IS think Shi-Chan's a girl, duh!"

"What!?" Shidou gasped.

"So did it work?!"

Twoearl grinned and declared, "Like a dream! He was even able to activate two other IS units!"

"Aweso – wait, two?" Tabane began before stopping in confusion. "Why'd he have to activate another?"

Twoearl, continuing to snack on meat skewers, answered plainly, "One of the Ultimagill attacked."

Tabane gasped and went silent for a surprisingly long time before asking with an unusually sober tone, "… Are you okay?"

Twoearl, seemingly not noticing Tabane's reaction, answered with a thumbs-up, "Just fine. Shidou whooped him good!"

Tabane proceeded to heave a heavy sigh of relief. "That's good…"

"Will somebody please explain what the heck is going on…?" Shidou begged in desperate confusion.

"Okay!" Twoearl answered, holding yet another empty skewer.

Finally noticing this, Shidou blinked curiously. "Wait… is that…?"

"Is what, what?" she asked blithely.

"From Ikumi's stall…?"

"Yup!" she cheered swallowing another gulp. "Why?"

"… No reason…"

"Okay!" she answered before grabbing a chicken wing out of the large basket of food next to her. "So what do you want to know?"

"What you and that bunny-eared moron did," Chifuyu commanded.

"Oh!" she shouted as she swallowed another bite. "We used a sample of Shidou's DNA and put it in the system, marking it down as female of a new species."

"What?!" everyone shouted in a mixture of shock and anger.

"What?" Tabane and Twoearl asked in bewilderment.

"How?!" Chifuyu growled.

"Why?!" Reiri demanded.

"When?!" Shidou gasped.

"Like this," Twoearl answered, holding up a syringe.

"Because Nayuta asked us to," Tabane answered plainly.

"Today!" they both finished.

Chifuyu and Reiri immediately stared at Twoearl with venomous glares. "… What?"

"Huh?"

"You've been in contact with that psycho?" Chifuyu snarled.

"Mom's a psycho?" Shidou asked with bewilderment.

"Answer me," Chifuyu demanded, ignoring her brother.

"Sometimes," Tabane answered plainly.

"And you didn't tell us?" Reiri growled, furious.

"To be fair if we did you'd probably try and lynch her. You and Chi-Chan tend to not think much after all."

Kotori could barely hold back a snigger, at which Reiri turned to Twoearl. "Can I borrow a skewer?"

The silver-haired woman tilted her head curiously but handed one to her, which Reiri promptly chucked at Kotori, who barely dodged it with a shriek.

"Ya think she'd learn by now…" Tabane noted with mild amusement.

Shidou, frustrated, shouted, "Hey! Why do you keep insulting Mom?!"

Reine just held back a snort, before Chifuyu answered, "You didn't know her like we did."

Shidou just frowned in irritated confusion.

"Well let's just head home."

"Ooh, can I come?" Twoearl asked with anticipation.

Shidou frowned cautiously. "I don't even know you…"

With a slight hiss in her voice, Reine added, "I do, don't let her."

Twoearl pouted deeply as tears began forming in her eyes, causing the teen to gulp as his will wavered.

"Don't fall for it."

"Fine…" Shidou relented.

"Yay!" Twoearl cheered, hugging his head into her vast cleavage.

Reine and Chifuyu frowned in matching irritation, Reiri just sighing in exasperation.

* * *

After returning home, Shidou blinked in realization. "With all that chaos, we kinda missed the whole point of me trying to learn how to date."

"Indeed…" Reine answered with a somber nod.

Twoearl smiled and patted her back. "I don't think that's a problem, there's always next time! Right Reiny?"

Reine responded by trying to stab the woman with a chopstick.

"Yikes! Heel, heel!"

Shidou raised his hands defensively to try and break up the would-be fight. "N – Now Reine… No need to be so mean…"

Reine sighed and lowered her makeshift weapon. "Fine."

Twoearl sighed in relief before Shidou chided, "And stop antagonizing her."

"I wasn't…" the woman pouted.

Reiri sighed as she rubbed her temple in frustration. "You do need to work on it though, if that plan for the Spirits is to work."

"… Right…" he muttered, incredulously.

"What plan?" Twoearl asked, interested.

As Kotori was about to speak, Reiri explained bluntly, "Him seducing them."

"Oooohh, need help!?" Twoearl asked with excitement.

Shidou frowned in confusion before Reine retorted, "He has me."

Reiri raised an eyebrow in thought. "The Spirits will likely all be different, so he should get experience from various women."

Shidou looked at his elder sister with accusation. "I knew it! You are trying to get me a harem!"

"No I'm not," she retorted bluntly.

Twoearl just snickered before blinking in thought. "Oh! What if he goes on a date with each of us?!"

"Hah!?" Shidou and Chifuyu gasped in disbelief.

Reiri put a hand on her chin in thought. "Hm… that might not be a bad idea."

"See!?" Shidou accused, Reine frowning slightly. "Seriously?! You're making me a harem, and so's Kotori!"

"Even I'm starting to see it…" Chifuyu mumbled.

Kotori, whose usual white hair ribbons were replaced with black once more, rebuffed, "Hey, at least I'm doing it to save the world."

Shidou stared at the redhead in confusion. "… Why'd you switch ribbons?"

Back in her white yet again, "I just do it sometimes," she answered cutely.

"… At least Karen's sane…" Shidou lamented before looking at his youngest sister, who was deep in thought with excitement. "… You okay, Karen?"

Looking up from her thoughts, the girl asked with a very serious expression, "When will we go on our date…?"

Shidou just gaped in disbelief before hanging his head in despair. "… Great…"

* * *

Later, after Reiri "politely" asked Twoearl and Reine to leave, Shidou sighed as he flopped onto his bed with exhaustion.

"What a day…" He went stiff as he heard his cellphone ringing and answered it cautiously, sighing in some relief when he saw the name "Aika" on it. "Hello?" he asked simply before a very annoyed voice on the other end shouted.

"What the hell Shidou!?"

He gasped in discomfort as he lurched the phone away from his ear. "What was that for…?!"

"You're a Slayer!?"

"I'm not a girl!"

"So what?! That was you in that IS fighting that… thing!"

"But I'm a guy…!"

"But that _was_ you!"

"But I'm not a girl!"

"Why does that matter when you can use an IS!? That makes you a Slayer!"

"Because I am not a girl!"

"Oh, forget it! What the hell was that thing!?"

"How would I know!?"

Twoearl, who was sitting beside his bed, explained, "An alien called an Ultimagill."

Shidou shrieked as he leapt almost to the ceiling.

Aika, still on the phone, having heard Twoearl, demanded, "Shidou?! Who was that!?"

"Future fuckbuddy!" Twoearl cheered.

"WHAT!?" she shrieked.

"NO!" Shidou howled in protest.

"YES!" Twoearl rebutted.

The window to Shidou's room slammed open as a petite girl with dark blue hair tied in twintails with white ribbons and red eyes stepped into the room, very perturbed.

"What the hell Aika?! How…?!"

The teen frowned in annoyance. "We're next-door neighbors you dork." She then looked at Twoearl sitting next to Shidou's bed before noticing the round lumps that threatened to pop out of her shirt, causing the petite girl to growl with anger.

Twoearl just blinked in confusion before waving with a smile. "Howdy!"

"Who the hell are you?!" Aika demanded before sending a kick that Twoearl caught, only to get an elbow to the head, knocking her down.

Shidou then stepped between them, frantic. "H – Hey! Don't just break into my room and start beating people up!"

Pointing at Twoearl, Aika commanded, "Then explain why this cow is in here!"

"I wish I knew! Sis made her leave an hour ago!"

Twoearl stood up, with a rather large lump on her head, and pulled the same device from her cleavage as before. "Oh that's easy! I teleported!"

"… Oh. Wait, what!? How is that even possible?"

"Teleporter, duh."

Shidou and Aika just stared at Twoearl in awe.

"What?"

Aika then backed away slowly. "Shidou, why is there a crazy woman in your room…?"

"I don't know!" he shouted before the door to his bedroom slammed open suddenly, a very angry Chifuyu on the other side of it. "Why does everyone slam my doors?!"

"I don't!" Twoearl made sure to add.

Chifuyu sternly pointed at Twoearl and ordered, "You, out."

Twoearl proceeded to walk out the window and stand on the balcony outside, and just waited there, causing Chifuyu's already heightened temper to flare even more. "What? Oh right!" she noted in realization before stepping back into the room and grabbing Shidou's hand, at which point Chifuyu uppercut the woman, sending her flying out the window.

"That was a bit mean…" Shidou lamented.

Rubbing her throbbing head, Chifuyu groaned, "I'm tired of all the shouting." She then noticed Aika standing nearby as well. "… Why are you here?"

"I heard that crazy lady's voice on the phone."

Shidou did not let her get away with that simple answered and added, "And she came in threw the window."

"I'm not crazy," Twoearl argued, suddenly behind Chifuyu, who reflexively turned and decked the silver-haired woman between the eyes, slamming her against the wall.

"H – How the…?" Chifuyu gasped.

"Why…?" the disoriented Twoearl begged.

"Apparently she can teleport…" Shidou explained with a shrug.

Chifuyu frowned unconvinced as Twoearl stood up shakily.

"Well of course! I said I had a teleporter, sheesh!"

That got the black-haired woman to narrow her eyes in suspicion.

"Those don't exist!" Aika blared, to which Twoearl pressed a button on her device and appeared behind Shidou.

Everyone in the room just stared at her in disbelief.

"What? Seriously, what?" Twoearl asked, seeing the confusion on their faces.

Aika began to scratch her head furiously. "So first Shidou's a Slayer, who fought some weird lizard thing, and now there's a crazy boob lady with a teleporter!? I feel like I'm going insane! And I'm going to beat you until this makes sense!"

"H – Hey! Stop fighting!" Shidou pleaded as Aika sent a kick at Twoearl, the latter of whom caught it easily.

"We're fighting?" the silver-haired woman asked with confusion, garnering even greater anger from the twin-tailed Pettanko.

"Why you…!" Aika snarled, throwing a punch that Twoearl dodged.

"Yeah, Tsun?"

Unfortunately for Aika, her punch flew past Twoearl and slammed Shidou square between the eyes.

Reiri immediately rushed up the stairs, hearing Shidou grunt as he collapsed and barged into the room. "What the hell's going on!?"

Pointing to the blithe Twoearl, Aika growled, "This crazy cow won't leave!"

Reiri frowned and then gaped slightly when she saw Twoearl. "How –?"

"She can teleport…" Shidou groaned as he sat up.

"It's not that I can," Twoearl began before pressing a button on the switch in her cleavage, "this device can," she continued, appearing behind Reiri, who reflexively turned and struck her square in the face, knocking her down.

"What the…?" Reiri wondered.

Twitching in pain, Twoearl groaned, "Why do you all do that…? It's not fun… Big Sis said you both would be…"

Shidou raised an eyebrow in mild confusion. "Sis?" His eyes then widened when he realized what she meant. "Wait, you're Tabane's sister!?"

"Of course," Twoearl stated as she stood up, rubbing her sore cheek. "Couldn't you tell?"

"Good point… but Houki never said anything about you."

Twoearl nodded with a shrug. "Well duh. I never really talked much to my nie – I mean little sister. Yeah, that's what I meant."

Reiri and Chifuyu stared at her suspiciously before Reiri decided to redirect the conversation, "Whatever, why are you still here?"

"Why shouldn't I be?"

"You don't live here. Plus, we already told you to leave."

"Aaww…" she pouted.

"Is there a reason you want to stay?" Shidou asked, confused.

"You!" Twoearl answered energetically.

Shidou blinked several times as he processed what she said. "… Heh?"

"What?"

"Why do I have anything to do with it?"

Twoearl was about to answer when Reiri cut her off, "Out."

"But –" Twoearl argued, before Reiri took the small remote from her grasp, grabbed her by the ear, and shoved her out the window before locking it.

"There," Reiri sighed in relief as she tucked the device in her pocket and then turned to Aika. "Now then… Aika, why are you here?"

Aika flinched as she tried to find her words before answered somewhat shakily, "First I called Shidou about that mess I saw on TV, then I heard that freak."

Folding her arms under her impressive bust, Reiri accused, "So you decided to come in to claim his virginity for yourself?"

Aika stumbled back as her face turned red and she began stammering. "N – No! I thought… um… I – I thought he needed help!"

"For?"

"Uuhh…" she went blank.

"You just wanted to make sure I didn't pop his cherry first," said Twoearl with a sly grin, hanging from the window sill, somewhat fatigued.

"Shut it whore!"

Twoearl went silent for a moment before shooting back with uncharacteristic rage, "I'M NOT A WHORE!"

Aika stumbled back in surprise at the response, the entire room going silent.

Shidou stuttered, "Th – That was a big reaction…" Seeing the dead silence in the room as Twoearl hung her head, attempting to hide some tears he still noticed, Shidou urged, "L – Let's all try to get along… okay…?" He then walked over to Twoearl in concern. "You alright?"

"I'm not…" she mumbled weakly.

Shidou sighed and smiled before patting her head softly. "I know. Now, why don't you get down before –"

Even before he could finish his sentence, Twoearl lost her grip and hit the ground below with a loud thud.

"… Did she die?" Aika questioned, her answer coming from Twoearl groaning in discomfort, causing Shidou to sigh in relief before looking out the window.

"You okay?"

"… Just… dizzy…" she muttered.

Shidou remained silent for a moment and then sighed in defeat. "… Come on in…"

* * *

Shortly later, the group stood in the living room, Twoearl hard asleep on the sofa.

Looking at the woman with a frown, Aika grumbled, "I still don't trust her…"

"So?" Shidou rebuffed. "You don't have to trust someone to help them. Besides, she seems harmless."

Looking at the remote she took from her earlier, Reiri noted, "With technology like this, I wouldn't be so sure of that." After a moment of thought she pushed one of the many unlabeled buttons on its surface, a holographic map of the city appearing above it. "… Eh? This kind of technology is only available in even the newest generation IS units, how does she have it in such a small device?"

"She did say she's Tabane's sister…" Shidou noted with exasperation.

"Right…" she muttered before pushing another button, causing a scan of a human body lined with inorganic material showed up, to which Reiri instantly closed the device.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Chifuyu frowned slightly as she looked at Shidou.

* * *

Shidou looked through the numerous news stories circulating about his fight with Lizardgil, groaning in frustration when he received a message from Miza.

"You're a Slayer?!"

"I'm a guy!" he messaged back.

She sent a zoomed in picture of him in the IS with the attached message, "Then why are you in this thing?!"

"I don't know how, but somehow they work for me!"

"So you're a Slayer."

"No I'm not!"

"You can activate, and use an IS, correct?"

"Yes…"

"Then you're a Slayer. It doesn't matter what equipment you have, if you can make the machine work you're a Slayer."

Shidou just sighed before deciding to drop the topic. "… Right… I didn't think yesterday would get so crazy though…"

"The UN's already starting its cover-ups, see?" she answered before sending him a link to a news report showing a government news site reporting that the battle with Lizardgil was an act and how Shidou was in fact just a masculine woman.

He frowned in thought as he looked at the report. "… Wonder how much they are going to pay the witnesses…"

"Whatever it takes to make them lie. Though I'm more worried about you."

That got his attention. "About me…? Why…?"

"How long before you've got government jackboots knocking down your door to study you?"

Shidou paled as he considered the thought, not thinking about it beforehand. "I'm… Reasonably sure Big Sis Rei and Chi can prevent that… If not… Got any ideas?"

"Hm… you could always fake your own death."

Shidou almost face-faulted out of his bed in response. "… Any other ideas? Also, why is faking my death your solution to everything?"

Miza did not respond for a moment. "It'd be easy to do? Plus it worked for me, even though mine wasn't intentional."

"… Eh?"

Ignoring his response, she continued, "Anyway, what do you have in mind?"

"I don't know… Run away from home maybe? But I'd need a place to… hide…"

She sent just a series of question marks, not following his thinking.

"I might have an idea… But if that doesn't pan out where could I meet you and find a place to hide?"

Miza did not respond for several moments, worrying the teen.

"Miza?"

"That's… a difficult answer," she finally answered, slowly.

"Why?" He waited and got no response before the connection was suddenly cut. "… That was… weird. And concerning… Oh well. Better go see Kotori."

* * *

"Hey Kotori. Got a question," Shidou noted as he walked up to the girl, who sat on the living room sofa.

She turned to him, with her white ribbons in her hair. "Sup, Bro?"

"Can I live on the Foxyinu?"

"What?" she asked blithely.

Shidou sighed deeply. "… I can't believe I'm going to say this… I need to talk to black ribbon Kotori…"

Kotori immediately flopped onto the couch and then sat back up, her white ribbons swapped for black.

"… Right… can I stay on the Foxyinu?"

"Why?" she asked bluntly.

"… Seriously?"

"You're fine here."

"How so?"

"We won't let anyone get to you."

"… I think it'd be safer if I wasn't living here though…"

"Why?"

"The government, duh!"

"They won't be an issue," Reiri argued, walking up to the two.

"Gah!"

"Why not?" Kotori questioned.

"As the commander of Little Garden, the governments know if they piss me off they lose access to IS technology."

"… AST," Shidou answered bluntly.

"And then what? You're just going to run and hide?"

"If it keeps you all safe? Yes."

"And how would your absence help?"

"They wouldn't come here and attack or anything."

"Bull," Kotori snapped. "They'll attack us if you're here to get leverage, and if you're not they'll use us to lure you out."

"… Ah…"

Chifuyu added, "So at least if you're here we can try and protect you. Unlike last time…"

Shidou frowned solemnly. "But that wasn't…"

"We could have still stopped it," Reiri argued.

"How? You both had more important things to worry about."

That got glares from all four girls, before Kotori harshly stamped on his foot, causing him to howl in pain, Karen added with a frown, "There's nothing more important than you…"

Without warning, Twoearl sat up immediately. "Eggplant!"

"… Eh?" Shidou stammered.

Kotori just stared at the woman in total disbelief. "… Well that was weird."

"I'm… going to go to bed."

Kotori, still with her black ribbons on, then turned her attention to Shidou. "Oh, Shidou, one other thing. After all the dating practice, we eventually need you to try out your newfound skills on someone not involved with the plan to make sure it's working."

Shidou just stared at her, before being distracted as Reiri remarked, "Agreed. We can't just have you learning all the time, you need to be tested as well."

Chifuyu was taken aback as well before sighing heavily. "… You two really are trying to build him a harem."

"I told you!" Shidou growled.

* * *

Shidou sighed as he woke up the next morning, exhausted. "Jeez… Yesterday was nuts… And it will only get crazier from here…" Deciding he was still tired, he rolled over on his bed, stiffening when he felt his hand land on something extremely soft. "… Oh no…" He slowly pulled the covers up and saw Twoearl sleeping beside him on the bed, and swiftly, but carefully, got up, trying not to wake her, before hearing a knock at his door.

He opened it just enough to see Chifuyu standing outside his room. "Move," she demanded.

"… Why?"

"I need to get the trash out of your room."

"But my room is clean," he answered, trying to sound ignorant of her point.

"You know what I'm referring to. Either get her out of your bed or I will."

"She's sleeping, though," he argued quietly.

"I don't care, she doesn't need to do it in your room."

"So? She doesn't have a room here."

"Well she can't stay in yours."

"Why not?"

Suddenly, Kotori, in her black ribbons, popped up over Chifuyu's shoulder, staring at him in disbelief. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Idiot," the two grumbled in unison.

"Eh?" he muttered as Twoearl woke up behind him. "Why am I an idiot just because I want her to rest?"

"Just get her out of there," Chifuyu snapped.

"Right…"

* * *

Later, the group all sat at the kitchen table, a very annoyed Reiri staring at Twoearl. "Why were you in my brother's room?"

"It's comfy," she answered with a smile.

"His bed is no different than the rest."

"… Right…"

Shidou sighed and added, "Next time tell me and I'll go out to the couch."

Nodding, Twoearl replied, "Then I'll be sure not to tell you."

He just twitched an eyebrow, before Kotori remarked, "See?"

"You're the ones trying to build me a harem."

Twoearl nodded firmly in agreement. "Yeah! Is there something bad about me?!"

"Yes," Kotori and Reiri answered in unison.

"It can't be my boobs," she remarked, raising her bosom before looking at Reiri, "hers are even bigger."

Shidou just watched in disbelief.

"Is it because I'm smarter than you?"

"No," Reiri snipped, "though that's debatable."

Twoearl folded her arms deep in thought before blinking in realization. "Oh! Is it because you're worried I'll pop his cherry before any of you?"

Shidou gaped before Reiri coughed lightly, her cheeks warming up, as she retorted, "M – Moving on, we'll find a room for you if you insist on staying here, and it _won't_ be Shidou's."

"Aaww…"

"If it bothers you that much you can find somewhere else to stay," Chifuyu taunted.

Twoearl sighed heavily in disappointment. "… Fine…"

Reiri nodded in acceptance. "Good. Now, since you'll be staying here, and you seem to know the most about them, explain what that lizard creature was yesterday and why it summoned a bunch of Savages and Abyssals."

"Okay! That was an Ultimagil! A creature that's a fusion of man and Savage!"

Chifuyu stared in disbelieving shock, along with Reiri. "… What?"

Continuing unaffected, Twoearl added, "They're human males that have had their genes spliced with that of what you call Savages, turning them into monsters that feed off women's mental energy."

"… How…?"

"The other side, as you call it."

"Eh?" Shidou muttered in bewilderment.

Reiri sighed and turned her attention to him. "I suppose you were going to learn this eventually, but we know to a degree where the Abyssals and Savages come from, that being a different dimension."

"… How do you…?"

"Nayuta."

"Mom knows?"

"Yes," Reiri answered curtly before turning back to Twoearl. "So there are humans on the other side?"

Twoearl nodded firmly, her bosom shifting in her scant blouse. "Yep! Well, only women now though. All the men were turned into Ultimagil."

"I see… and you know all of this because…?"

"I used to live there, Big Sis did too."

Both of the women stared in shock.

"Wwhhaatt?"

"And this was never mentioned because…?" Reiri asked with a hint of anger.

"We thought you'd kill us or try to grill us. So we didn't mention it."

"I assume _she_ knew though?"

Twoearl tilted her head curiously. "Hm? Who?"

"Mom," Kotori explained.

"Ah. Yes."

Chifuyu hissed angrily. "Tch, that bitch."

However, Reiri proceeded to smack her on the shoulder lightly before chiding quietly, "Not in front of Shidou."

"… Fine…"

Reiri then turned her attention to Twoearl. "So does the other side have an actual name?"

"Vatlantis," the silver-haired woman answered simply.

"Atlantis?" Chifuyu interjected.

"No, Vatlantis, with a V."

"Right…"

Shidou then blinked in remembrance. "Oh, Twoearl, when I killed that thing, he dropped something."

She blinked as he handed her the blue crystal Lizardgildy left behind and looked it over. "It's an essence crystal. It contains the energy that particular Ultimagil was made with."

"Ah. What's it do?"

She shrugged as she handed it back to him. "Not much really. It's basically the same as the Core to a Noi – I mean Savage. It can be used as a power source if you have the right technology, otherwise it could potentially serve as an explosive."

Shidou paled and slowly, gently, set the crystal down on a table. "… A – Ah…"

"At any rate, the most defining feature and greatest weakness of the Ultimagil is their fetishes."

Shidou turned to her instantly in surprise. "… Hah?"

"Remember what happened when Lizardgildy saw Reiny?"

"Yeah…" he answered with a deep frown.

"Each Elemelian has something they like, and when they see a woman who exhibits that characteristic, they become almost paralyzed from doing anything else."

Shidou's frown deepened, though Reiri nodded and added, "Meaning, as cruel as it sounds, we can use that as traps. That said, there is one other thing I'd like to know."

"Oh?"

"If both you and the Ultimagil originate from this Vatlantis place, why are you fighting them?"

That caused Twoearl to narrow her eyes with disgust. "Because they're vermin."

"Then it seems you're also fighting the rest of your home world as well."

"Why?"

"Aren't they being led by the people of your world?"

Twoearl blinked before bursting out laughing frantically, confusing and worrying the others. "Y – You think th – HAHAHA!" The others just stared in growing concern as she cackled, slowly calming herself down. "Oh that is too funny…"

"What is…?" Shidou asked in befuddlement.

"You all thinking they work for my world when we've been trying to exterminate these monsters."

Shidou and Reiri just stared at her.

Twoearl blinked in confusion. "You… really thought that? Why?!" she shouted with shock.

Shrugging, Chifuyu answered, "We figured that whatever was on the other side was controlling the Savages and Abyssals."

"No. While it is possible to domesticate them for use in warfare, the Ultimagil, due to the fact that they are partly them, can control them. Kinda like how a Queen Ant directs a hive."

Shidou furrowed his brow in thought. "Wait, so you _do_ control some?"

Twoearl nodded slightly. "Yes, but only to defend ourselves from them, and to see how best to kill the more aggressive ones. So I assure you, the Elemelians are not our friends." Tightening her fists with anger, she added, "No, they're the enemies to all living things. And must be eradicated."

"I have one last question," Reiri announced.

"Which is?"

"If the Elemelians are from your world and are made from your men, who made them?"

"One of Vatlantis' ancient queens. At that time Vatlantis was embroiled in constant war, and she traced it back to the men fighting over land, resources, wealth, and sometimes even women. So she used her technology and power to turn them into weapons. Unfortunately, that wasn't a perfect solution, since upon getting their weaponized bodies they became even more depraved and despicable than before. With their new bodies they need spiritual or mental energy to survive, and with the men gone, that left only one source for it. Which is any woman they can catch. Eventually Sis and I developed a weapon that can defeat them. I was the first to test it."

"What was it?" Shidou asked, interested.

"We called it the Tail Gear. The government called it Magitech Armor. You call it Infinite Stratos. Though, to be fair, our Tail Gear was supposed to be something truly great compared to them…"

"What happened?"

Twoearl tightened her fists and lowered her face. "… I lost…" she muttered quietly.

Shidou widened his eyes as he realized what she was getting at.

"They stole my Attribute from me…"

Reiri sighed and folded her arms. "So that's why you exploded when Aika called you… that."

Twoearl just sat quietly before Shidou tightened his fists and declared, "… I'll stop them."

Reiri popped his bubble slightly. "How? You'll need a IS."

Shidou just winced before turning to her slowly. "… Can I have one…?"

Reiri sighed and explained, "We can get one made for you, but it will take time."

Shidou frowned somberly before Chifuyu glanced at Twoearl and added, "Of course, that's only if our guest here and her crazed sister don't already have one."

Twoearl stood up straight at that.

"Well? Do you?"

Twoearl put a finger on her chin and furrowed her brow, deep in thought. "I… think…? Maybe…"

Reiri sighed in annoyance before Twoearl changed the subject.

"Do you have a basement?"

"Yes, we do. Why?"

"Do you mind if I use it?"

"I suppose not. We're not really using it for anything."

"Great!" she cheered before running off.

"What do you think she's planning?" Chifuyu asked.

"I'd rather not know," her sister retorted, Shidou sighing at the two before he heard the doorbell ring.

Going to it and opening the door, he saw two people standing outside. "Eh? Souji? Ms. Miharu?"

Miharu, a tall, older woman with short, tied up, pale red hair that flared out at the ends, her eyes a matching red, her striped, white top hugging tightly to her moderate bust, along with a long black skirt.

Next to her was Souji, a young woman with long, vibrant red hair tied in twintails with light auburn eyes, wearing the same school uniform from Shidou's school, the top stretching significantly from her bosom.

"Hello, Shidou!" Miharu greeted with a bright smile.

"Wh – Why are you here?" he stuttered.

Souji smiled and replied, "Just to –" before she was interrupted.

"To congratulate you!" Miharu cheered.

"Mom!" Souji snapped. "That's not it!"

Shidou tilted his head in confusion. "Eh? Congratulate me? On what?"

Miharu reacted instantly by grabbing Souji's phone the exhibition's news report.

Shidou stiffened and laughed weakly. "… D – Didn't you hear? That was just something else?"

Miharu grinned slyly. "I've imagined that face so many times I'd never mistake it!"

Souji's face turned as red as her hair. "M – Mom! You're embarrassing me!"

"No, I'm not," Miharu retorted bluntly before turning back to Shidou with a smile. "Now, Shidou, we're here to celebrate you becoming the first male Slayer."

A very annoyed Chifuyu stood nearby. "What do you want, you damned cougar?"

"To celebrate of course!"

"There's nothing to celebrate, goodbye," she snipped before closing the door.

Miharu jammed her foot in it, stopping it from closing, with an irritated smile. "Oh, but there is."

"You're just here to get drunk and try to lay claim to my brother. So leave."

Miharu pouted before holding up a bottle of expensive brandy. "But I brought the good stuff."

"… Fine," she grunted as she opened the door.

Shidou just stared at her. "… Lush." He immediately regretted that after a swift smack to the head.

"So, where's that pretty new house guest?" Miharu asked as she and Souji walked in.

Shidou twitched an eyebrow at her. "… How…?"

Miharu just smiled. "We live right across the street, you think I _wouldn't_ notice?"

Sighing in annoyance he wondered, "… Am I just being spied on all the time?"

"I prefer attentive observation," she remarked cheerfully.

"Spying it is…"

"What's with all the noise?" Reiri grumbled as she walked in.

"Big Sis got beer."

"From who?" Reiri wondered before she saw Miharu and an uncomfortable Souji. "… Why are you here?"

"Celebration!" she cheered.

Reiri sighed and looked to Souji.

The redhead bowed deeply. "I'm sorry… she saw Shidou in the news and didn't believe the official story."

"Of course…" she groaned, pinching her nose in frustration.

She bowed repeatedly in regret. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

Reiri waved a hand dismissively. "Forget it, we know how overbearing mothers can be."

"And crazy," Chifuyu added.

Souji sighed in relief before glancing at Shidou with a small smile, who just looked at her somewhat confused. "What?"

Upon realizing this, she looked away swiftly. "N – Nothing…"

"Okay…?"

Miharu suddenly shouted, "Less talking, more drinking!"

Shidou just groaned.

* * *

Shidou sat while the others drank when he saw Souji sitting by herself. "You okay?" he asked as he walked up to her.

"H – Huh?" she stammered, turning to him. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just wish my mom wasn't so nuts."

"I see…" he noted before smiling and patting her shoulder gently. "Don't worry, I'm sure it's just because she's lonely. Besides, I like talking with you when she comes over."

Souji stared at him for a moment before her face turned a bright vibrant red.

* * *

 **And cut! There ends the second chapter of Armored Spirit. Hopefully you enjoyed it, be sure to let me know with a review if you did. If you were confused, unsure, or have questions about anything, let me know in a review and I will do what I can to address your concerns in the next reviewer responses. If you did not enjoy the chapter, review if you must, though try to keep it legible and civil. Anyway, with that said, until next time, bye-bye!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter III**

 **Greetings! I am back with the third chapter of Armored Spirits! I feel like I am on a bit of a roll with this one, so I will be doing this for at least a little bit. Hopefully everyone enjoyed the previous chapter, at least a few of you did it would seem. If you enjoy this one too, be sure to let me know! That said, I would like to thank Bakuto Masaki for all of his help, so on with the reviewer responses!**

 **Guest: No, there is a _very_ long time to go before we get to Little Garden.**

 **Fortitude: Why? That twenty-six girl orgy sounds awesome! Definitely something I'll try to do at some point.**

 **No one expects the Span - oops, wrong one.**

 **The Objects can usually be outdone by the Abyssals and Savages.**

 **I am aware, but in my mind those are rather minor differences.**

 **You really need to learn to put all of your thoughts in one review.**

 **Travis Moon: I antagonize males because it's funny. It's a way for the MC to prove these are his girls, anyone who tries to cut-in is dead meat. I don't really have anything else to respond to in that big review, except for saying Shidou won't be like that.**

 **Unknown Guest: That's a secret. It's not an OC but it is an original name, that's all I'll say.**

 **I see. I don't really see how that would introduce her early since she appeared really early on anyway.**

 **Probably not his nurse, but he will get Miharu in other ways. And you know she is.**

 **No plans for Asterisk at the moment but it's something we won't rule out.**

 **Nice.**

 **Jose19: Well that's you. Me and seemingly thousands of other people love it. I personally don't care that Kizuna fucks his mother and sister so long as there's no rape involved, which to my knowledge there isn't. It's not a permanent death, knowing Deus she's got something weird up her sleeve.**

 **freeforall546: I don't think he acted like that, maybe it's just something you're seeing. It might. :) To Love Ru definitely not. I can't reveal how he will be connected, but you can be sure it's big. You don't really know the backstory of the parents yet, you will eventually and it will all make sense. Never watched Kuroko's Basket Ball and have no interest in doing so, so I've no clue what you're talking about.**

 **BloodWolf752: She's not _just_ a possibility.**

 **Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov: Good, I personally don't like it when certain readers put all the responsibility on us when we've already introduced the characters in the story. If you don't know, just ask, I won't be mad. Rant over.**

 **It's a crazy series.**

 **You're half right. Savages are from Hundred, but Abyssals are actually from Kantai Collection, the enemies from Freezing are called Nova. Slayer is what the pilots of the IS-like mecha in Hundred are called.**

 **Lizardgildy is a villain from Gonna Be the Twintail. Twoearl and Aika are also from GBTT.**

 **LOL, I'm sure, don't worry, it won't be happening much anymore. It's only rated T temporarily. Once things start getting sexy I'll bump the rating up.**

 **Darkkon27: I wouldn't call it carefree, more like 'has no idea what the fuck to do'. And he will be getting proactive, he just needs to try and understand things a little first.**

 **Guest: She usually does.**

 **That's a ways to go yet.**

 **Phew! What a big one! Well, that is done, so on with the show!**

* * *

Shidou sat while the others drank when he saw Souji sitting by herself. "You okay?" he asked as he walked up to her.

"H – Huh?" she stammered, turning to him. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just wish my mom wasn't so nuts."

"I see…" he noted before smiling and patting her shoulder gently. "Don't worry, I'm sure it's just because she's lonely. Besides, I like talking with you when she comes over."

Souji stared at him for a moment before her face turned a bright vibrant red. "H – Huh?! Yes!" she stammered.

"Right…" he answered unconvinced before Miharu approached him after handing out drinks to everyone else and offered him one, only to be yanked away by Reiri.

"Not a chance, you damned cougar," Reiri hissed, causing the redhead to pout. "I'm not letting you get my brother drunk."

Miharu blinked in thought. "You'd rather get him drunk?"

"No," she answered flatly. "He doesn't need to be drunk."

"Aw…"

Shidou just laughed at the two before blinking in thought and turning to Souji curiously. "Oh, hey, Souji, how come you weren't at that IS event?"

Souji sighed in defeat. "I didn't want Mom embarrassing me."

"Ah, good point. Do you still want to be a Slayer?"

Souji nodded with a proud smirk. "Yes, of course." After a few moments, though, her face started to redden as she began to fidget. "So do you think… we'll be in the same class?"

The blue-haired teen folded his arms in thought. "I don't know… I could ask Big Sis…"

Souji almost felt out of her seat as she flailed her arms in slight panic. "N – No, that's okay! I – It's not like I specifically want to be in a class with you…! I was just… asking."

"Right…"

Twoearl, who was leaning on the back of the couch between the two smirking in amusement, cooed, "Ooh… you two getting all lovey-dovey over here by yourselves?"

Souji's face was almost glowing bright red, though Shidou just laughed the comment off. "No, it's nothing like that. We're just talking about school."

"Rriigghhtt…" Twoearl commented unconvinced, before looking at Souji in thought. "Hm… you'd look good in armor."

"… Hah?" Souji looked at the women in disbelief and scooted away from her somewhat.

"Hey, can I see your hand?"

Souji frowned uncertainly before reaching her hand up to her. "Why…?"

Without a word, Twoearl slapped a large red bracelet on the girl's wrist, which clamped down tightly.

"H – Huh!?"

"Hey!" Shidou growled as he stood up.

Souji tried to pull the device off desperately, to no avail.

"Sorry, that thing's stuck like glue, so get used to – blergh!" Twoearl began before being violently interrupted as Chifuyu whacked her on the back of the head, knocking her over the sofa and onto the floor in front of it.

"Stop doing crazy shit without warning anyone!" Chifuyu then began massaging her temples in annoyance. "My god this is headache inducing…"

"Agreed…" Kotori grumbled.

"You invited those two in," Reiri chastised, causing Chifuyu to stiffen, irritated. "This is what you get for wanting a cheap excuse to get drunk."

Chifuyu slumped into a seat, defeated. "Shut up…"

* * *

Eventually, Reiri managed to convince Miharu and Souji to leave, before collapsing onto a chair, exhausted. "They're finally gone…"

"Indeed…" Chifuyu remarked.

Shidou sighed in exasperation before Karen commented, "Souji's mom is so nice."

Chifuyu just stared at her in disbelief before Reiri put up a hand. "She's young, let it go."

"Right…" Chifuyu mumbled, too tired to push the issue.

Twoearl glanced to the side and noticed Kotori, her black ribbons still on, asleep on the sofa and snickered deviously as she deftly untied and took them, Karen and Shidou watching in quiet annoyance.

Reiri then changed the subject, addressing Shidou. "You still need practice."

"I know…" Shidou answered with a heavy sigh.

Reiri began rubbing her chin in thought. "Hm… maybe we could ask Miharu and Souji to help too."

Chifuyu stared at her in shock. "… Miharu?"

"Yes."

"No, _why_ her?"

"I have my reasons," Reiri answered somewhat cryptically.

Chifuyu twitched an eyebrow before sighing in defeat. "… Right…"

* * *

Shortly later, Shidou stood in the kitchen preparing dinner with a heavy groan. "What a day… This is all too much… Way too much…"

"Hey, Bro –" Kotori spoke up standing behind Shidou, her sudden appearance shocking the teen.

"Don't do that!"

Ignoring his pleas, Kotori continued, "Do you know where my ribbons are?"

Shidou just stared at her for a moment. "You're wearing them."

"The other ones," she retorted.

Shidou frowned for a moment before shrugging. "No clue."

Kotori frowned in response, with a hint of Shidou thought was fear.

"Anyway, I'm almost done cooking."

"R – Right…"

* * *

After setting the table and dishing out the food, Shidou sat with everyone else, Twoearl staring over the dishes with excitement. "Ooh, yummy! Looks delicious!"

Reiri then cautioned, "Take small bites."

Completely ignoring her warning, Twoearl scooped a large serving of the curry on her plate into mouth before letting out a light whimper of astonishment. "… Ggoooodd…!"

Reiri and Chifuyu stared in awe.

"How…?" Reiri mumbled in bewilderment as Twoearl proceeded to eat several more, equally large bites.

Chifuyu also watched in shock. "H – How…?"

"What's wrong?" Shidou asked, to which Reiri answered bluntly.

"Nothing for you to worry about."

"If you say so…"

Taking another gulp, Twoearl shot Shidou a thumbs up. "Yummy! You'd make a woman a great wife Shidou!"

"H – Huh? What does that even mean…?" he wondered in confusion. He then noticed Kotori in an adjacent hallway, still searching for her lost ribbons.

"Wh – Where are they…?!"

Shidou frowned, conflicted. "… I'm not sure how to feel about this…" he questioned, whilst Twoearl just snickered.

* * *

After finishing the meal, Shidou groaned as he flopped into his bed, roused when he heard knocking on the window to his balcony. He opened it, only to see Aika on the deck.

"Hey, what was all that n –?" she asked before Shidou shrieked in surprise. "Geez, stop freaking out."

"Why are you here?!"

"… A party. Souji and her mother came over because… well because I guess Miss Miharu wanted to get drunk."

"Right… anything else?"

"No," he answered bluntly."

"… Rriigghhtt…"

"… A – Anyway…" Shidou began before the door to his bedroom suddenly slammed open. "Oh what now…?!"

Twoearl rushed in, frantic. "There's another one!"

"Oh great, she's still here," Aika remarked flatly.

Twoearl then took notice of Aika and smirked. "Oh, hi Miss Aika. You come to get with Shidou?"

"No!" she snapped before sending a high kick at Twoearl, knocking the woman into a wall.

Shidou watched in shock as he stood to leave. "… I'm just gonna go…"

"Wait!" Twoearl shouted as she stood up suddenly.

"… Why…?"

"There's another one!"

"You can't be serious…"

"I always am!"

Shidou just stared at her in deadpanned disbelief, causing the silver-haired woman to tilt her head in confusion.

"What?"

Shidou just sighed and changed the subject. "Another what? Is it an Ultimagil?"

"Nope."

"… Oh. Then what?"

"Remember I mentioned the Tail Gear a while ago?"

"Yes…"

"Well your friend, Souji, is someone compatible with it. And my scanner's telling me that there's someone else who can use one nearby, though it's not being very specific… I wonder why… Maybe I should take it to Sis to check it out."

"Right…"

Aika then interjected, "So when are you kicking this crazy out?"

"… I don't really plan to."

"I live here now!" Twoearl cheered.

Aika just glared with irritation.

"What?"

"Forget it," Aika huffed before turning abruptly, causing her twintails to whip through the air as she left.

"Weird Tsun."

Shidou sighed heavily before turning to Twoearl.

"Yes?"

"There's something I want to know, if you'll tell me."

"I'm an E-Cup."

"Not that!" he shouted with a deep red face.

"Then what?"

"Is Vatlantis really not attacking us at all? I don't know why, but I just get the feeling the Ultimagil aren't the only ones."

"They'd need a reason to, and as far as I'm aware, they don't have one."

Shidou frowned in slight uncertainty. "I see… If you say so…"

Twoearl nodded with a smile. "It's true. The leaders are peaceful-ish and only attack in retaliation."

"Right… I'll take your word then."

"Cool. So, anything else you wanna know?"

Shidou furrowed his brow in consideration. "… Not really. Though how strong are your leaders?"

"Immensely. Unfortunately, being so powerful they delegate most leadership duties to others."

"Ah…"

"As for our de facto leaders, they're also extremely powerful, probably beyond most Slayers here."

"… Ah… that's… scary…"

Twoearl tilted her head in confusion. "It is?"

"If they do decide to go on the offensive it is."

Twoearl nodded plainly. "True, but if they did, then that would mean Earth did something to deserve it."

Shidou's frown deepened.

"Yep," Twoearl chirped before grinning lewdly. "Now, why don't we get to know each other without words?" she remarked before preparing to pounce on Shidou, only to get smacked down from behind. "Ow! Hey!"

Reiri, standing behind her with a frown, chided, "If you want to get cozy, take him on a date first."

"Aw…" the silver-haired woman pouted.

Shidou twitched an eyebrow. "… Trying to get me a harem…"

"I am not," Reiri responded in an almost rehearsed tone.

"You aren't?" Twoearl asked with surprise.

"No."

"Right…" Twoearl remarked incredulously as Shidou just groaned in exasperation.

Reiri sighed as she folded her arms under her bust. "We still need to decide who your first date will be."

"Right…" Shidou sighed before Kotori burst into the room.

"We need to find my ribbons first!"

"Why?" Reiri retorted. "They're just accessories."

Kotori stared at her in disbelief before lowering her expression and leaving.

Shidou frowned in concern as he watched her walk out. "… This could be bad…"

"She'll get over it," Reiri retorted coldly.

"Right…"

"Now, back to the matter at hand."

Shidou nodded slowly before thinking and then turned to his sister. "I'm not going to get a say in this anyway, so why don't you guys discuss it while I deal with Kotori?"

"Okay," Reiri answered with a nod.

* * *

Shidou walked out of the room and into the living room, where he saw Kotori sitting on the sofa, despondent.

"Life has no meaning…" she moaned.

"Kotori…?" he asked cautiously as he approached her.

"What…?"

"What's wrong? Is that ribbon really that important?"

The redhead stiffened slightly before turning to him. "… It's… complicated."

Shidou sighed slightly before nodding with a smile. "Okay, then want me to help you look for it?" In his mind he muttered, ' _I can't stand Kotori being this sad…_ '

Kotori nodded, slightly confused. "Sure…"

"You look over there, and I'll look over here."

"Right…" Kotori responded before Shidou walked out of the room. Kotori just stared in confusion before hearing Twoearl scream, followed by a giggle, Shidou walking back out holding two black ribbons in his hands.

"Found i –" Shidou declared before being tackled by Kotori in a powerful hug, knocking him to the floor.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she shouted as she rubbed her head into his torso.

"R – Right…" Shidou responded, shocked and confused before sighing and patting her head gently.

Taking them, Kotori immediately swapped them with the white pair she was wearing, after which she stood up suddenly.

"Uh… Kotori…?" Shidou asked, only for Kotori to vanish into the next room, Shidou thinking he saw red on her face. "… That was weird… Haa…" with a sigh he added, "At least she's happy…"

* * *

"Then it's decided," Reiri announced as she and the other girls stood in a circle, a confused Shidou standing on the side.

He mumbled in confusion as she explained.

"Reine will take the first date, followed by myself, then Twoearl, then Chifuyu, and finally Kotori." Looking around the group, she asked, "Well?"

Karen pouted somewhat. "Why am I not on it…?"

Seeing his youngest sister's sadness, Shidou swiftly changed the focus. "… W – Wasn't the idea to get experience from those outside the plan?"

"You need to know how to date first," Reine answered in an almost deriding tone.

"… Right… So a real date… Though I thought that one with Reine was supposed to be real…"

Reine added, "It was interrupted too much… This time will be right… I will be sure of it…" she finished, with an almost dangerous determination in her otherwise blank eyes.

"Right…"

"Now, let's go…" she urged, albeit in her still sleepy state.

"W – Wait, right now?"

"I don't see a problem," Reiri explained.

* * *

Without another word, Reine dragged Shidou of the room and the house.

"So where first?" Shidou asked as he walked next to Reine, who held his arm sandwiched in her pillows.

"Movie…" she answered, looking and sounding as though she may fall asleep at any moment.

"Right. Anything particular?"

"No…"

"R – Right…" Shidou answered, forcing a weak laugh to try and break the tension. "L – Let's just head to the theater then."

* * *

The two soon arrived at a cinema, Shidou looking over several the advertised movies in consideration. "Hm… ideas?"

Reine just stared at the posters silently, her eyes primarily focused on one in particular.

"… Um, Reine?" he asked, to rouse her attention.

She turned to him lazily, just responding with a curious hum.

"Which movie do you want to see?"

Reine merely shrugged. "I'm fine as long as we both see it…"

"Right…" he responded, not entirely certain to do, so he picked the movie she had been staring at most.

Reine noticed that and blinked in slight surprise.

"Now let's get some snacks," Shidou urged as he purchased the tickets, Reine just nodding as she followed behind him into the cinema.

* * *

Shortly after, the two sat in their seats, Reine holding one of his arms deep in her cleavage, her low-cut top letting Shidou feel every centimeter of her orbs. Trying to distract himself, he used his free hand to throw popcorn in his mouth. His distraction failed, somewhat, when Reine tapped him on the shoulder. Wincing in a combination of fear and surprise, he turned to her. "Y – Yes? Want some?"

She responded by opening her mouth.

Shidou took a gulp bigger than any he had in his life as he stared at her and cautiously moved a piece of popcorn to her mouth, at which point Reine, with surprising speed, clamped her mouth around his finger. He winced expecting a bite, but instead felt his entire body grow hot as she began sucking gently on his finger.

Reine pulled back with a small, almost imperceptible, smile. "Tasty…"

Shidou just stared dumbfounded for several moments before turning away and shaking his head. "Y – Yeah, the popcorn is," he commented, forcing a laugh.

"Not that…"

"Huh?" he muttered in bewilderment, Reine just ignoring him and returning her attention to the film.

"Don't be nervous, Shin…" Reine remarked.

"It's Shido – " Shidou turned to her in mild confusion, only for Reine to stuff a chocolate ball in his mouth.

"There…" she remarked with a slightly larger smile.

Shidou just blinked in bewilderment but proceeded to chew it. After a moment, he returned his attention to the movie as well, watching a giant green creature fight off a mechanical giant as well, and frowned in confusion. "This movie is…"

Reine suddenly turned to him. "Yes…?"

He sighed and shook his head. "N – Nothing… It's just… familiar…"

Reine frowned slightly but turned back to the screen.

* * *

At the back of the theater, Twoearl sat with a camera, recording the date, all whilst sipping on a soda and chewing a chocolate bar.

* * *

After the film's conclusion, Shidou walked somewhat stiffly, relieved that his arm was no longer being overwhelmed by Reine's globes.

Reine tilted her head in slight confusion as she looked at him. "You okay, Shin…?"

"It's… oh nevermind. Yeah, I'm fine."

"Okay…" Reine answered, her brow slightly furrowed.

"So what's next?"

"Food…"

"Right. Anywhere you want to go?"

"Your choice…"

"Right…" Shidou responded before dropping his head with a sigh, seeing no help from her. ' _Good place to eat… good place to eat… Where is a good place to eat?!_ ' Looking around frantically, he saw a burger restaurant he knew was good, but after taking a glance at Reine he shook his head vigorously. ' _… No, she deserves better… but I also need to be able to afford it…_ '

Reine watched quietly as he began a downward spiral in his mind before speaking up. "I'm fine with anything Shin…"

"H – Huh?" Shidou mumbled as he looked at her.

"I'm fine with anything…"

"R – Right… then how about…" he started slowly, before looking at her cautiously, "burgers…?"

Reine nodded silently.

He sighed a heavy breath of relief. "Right," he said more to himself than anything.

* * *

Shortly later, the two sat in a booth of that restaurant, eating, Shidou trying to hide the fact he was watching Reine to try and gauge her reaction.

After taking a few bites, she commented, "Tasty…"

Shidou could practically feel the weight off his back. "That's good…" He let out an almost audible "eep" as Reine reached over and gently put a hand on his.

"You don't need to be so nervous," she said with a surprising alertness to her voice.

"H – Huh?" he questioned, still confused.

"You can't do anything wrong… Not to me…"

That got Shidou's brain running with even more questions, though he just nodded dumbly with a weak "Right" before turning his attention to his food.

He was about to speak to her again when he heard a loud crash behind him. Turning, he watched as four men in grey suits walk into the restaurant, the center of the group being a tall man with short, messy, light brown hair, green eyes, and several scars on his face. He frowned before he saw them approach the visibly unhappy owner of the restaurant, a woman with waist-length, straight brown hair tied in a braid over her shoulder and purple eyes wearing a violet dress and white apron.

The woman sighed heavily with frustration. "Why are you here, Takeshi…?"

Shidou frowned suspiciously. ' _This doesn't look good…_ '

The brown-haired man, Takeshi, walked up to the woman with a smirk. "Because, Hinako, it's time to pay up."

Hinako huffed in derision. "I can't."

Takeshi's smirk dropped as he narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What…?"

Hinako frowned and averted her gaze from him. "I don't have the money yet. You'll get it in one week."

Takeshi sighed in frustration. "Hinako…" He then put a hand on Hinako's cheek, forcing her gaze back to him. "You're always so mean to me…"

Hinako grit her teeth in disgust and slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me. Now, unless you're here to eat, get out."

Shidou's entire body tensed as he prepared to run out of his booth.

"So rude," Takeshi hissed before curling a fist. "I thought I beat more manners into you!" he shouted before swinging his fist at her.

Shidou immediately jumped from his booth and pushed Hinako out of the way, causing him to get hit by Takeshi's fist and fall to the floor.

The woman's eyes widened in shock as she realized what had just occurred. "H – Huh…?"

Takeshi raised an eyebrow and then snarled. "What the… who the hell are you?"

Shidou grumbled as he sat up and then scowled at Takeshi.

Takeshi hissed in derision and motioned to the three men around him. "Tch, turn this kid blue."

However, before they could even move, Takeshi was bent over in pain as Reine grabbed his fist and yanked it high, squeezing brutally. "No hurting Shin…" she threatened with a deadly glare.

"Wh – What the…?! Let go you bitch!" Takeshi cursed as he tried to wrench his arm free of the woman's grasp.

Reine bent his arm back and down, dislocating his shoulder as she crushed his hand, his goons standing in bewildered shock.

"D – Don't just stand there! Kill her!"

Almost immediately, though, Reine tossed Takeshi aside like a bag of flour, knocking him and his grunts to the floor.

Takeshi trembled as he backed away from the group. "Dammit! I'll be back, bitch!" He then turned and fled the restaurant with his goons.

"Oh no, are you hurt!?" Hinako exclaimed as she ran up to him.

Shidou turned red and averted his gaze from her swaying twins. "H – Huh? No I'm fi –" he stopped with a sudden flinch as he sheepishly scratched his cheek, hitting the injury, resulting in Reine being at his side almost instantaneously.

Hinako frowned somberly. "… Why did you do that?"

Sighing as he stood up, he returned, "I couldn't just stand there and let that jerk hit you."

Her frown deepened. "Please, come with me. I have first aid supplies in the office. It's the least I can do for you help."

Shidou just nodded and followed her back.

* * *

Putting a bandage over his cheek, she nodded to herself. "There that should do it." After a moment she bowed deeply, causing her bosom to sway side to side.

Shidou just gulped down nervously.

"I'm so sorry…" she apologized deeply.

"Th – There's nothing to be sorry for," he remarked, uncertain where to point his eyes.

"But there is… you came to my restaurant, and saw… that."

"It's okay, Miss… um, what is your name?"

"Oh, how rude of me. I am Hinako Inui."

Shidou nodded in return. "Shidou Hida."

Hinako blinked a few times in thought. "… Hida? Your name is Hida?"

"Y – Yeah. Is that a problem?"

"N – Not at all!" Hinako responded, somewhat shakily. ' _There's no way he really is…_ ' "I just remember a teacher I had in Totsuki Academy named Hida."

Shidou blinked in thought. "Totsuki? You went to Sis' school?"

Hinako tilted her head curiously. "Sis?"

"Oh, right. Reiri and Chifuyu Hida are my elder sisters."

Hinako's expression remained the same, but seemed to freeze. ' _He really is!_ '

"You okay…?" Shidou asked, noticing her odd countenance.

Hida just shook her head with a pleasant smile. "No, I'm fine. Thank you, Hida. After all that happened, you don't need to worry about a payment." ' _Yes! Maybe through him I can finally get back on the board! Oh this will be great! Nayuta-Sensei got me on the board, mean Rei-Rei and Chi got me off, and now their brother will get me back on!_ '

Shidou frowned deeply in concern. "… If you don't mind me asking, who was that creep anyway?"

Hinako sighed heavily. "I appreciate your concern, but you really shouldn't get involved with this. You could get hurt, or worse."

"Just tell me, please. I can take care of myself, after all."

Hinako remained in silent thought for several moments. "If I tell you, you need to promise not to get involved any further."

Reine sighed.

Shidou frowned in concern but nodded.

Hinako balled her fists. "That man, Takeshi, is a high-ranked member of a gang that essentially rules most of this city."

Shidou's frown deepened. ' _Sis needs to hear this._ '

Hinako sighed and then continued, "Takeshi is…" she trailed off as she tightened her fists, "he's also my ex-husband. We were married for four years until I found out he left a large debt in my name. And so now that gang have me near bankruptcy. I managed to make a deal with them though. If I can gather the money needed to pay off the debt, then they'll let it go. But if I can't…" She trembled in terror. "I'm worried they might force me into one of their brothels…"

Shidou paled before he furrowed his brow resolutely. "… I won't let that happen."

"H – Huh?" she stammered.

"I said that I won't let that happen to you."

"B – But I said –" she argued, only for Reine to interrupt her.

"As soon as you did, his involvement became inevitable… So just finish…"

Hinako nodded before sighing heavily. "So I opened this restaurant and have been paying off the debt bit-by-bit, slowly but surely. It seems they didn't like that, so they started sending Takeshi with his goons to terrorize my restaurant. I'm almost in the red…"

Shidou then immediately asked, "How much is your debt?"

"Wh – What…?" she muttered in confusion before widening her eyes. "No, I couldn't let you –!"

"Just tell me how much it is."

"… Five million yen."

Shidou nodded in return. "Got it. I'll help you raise the money."

"H – Huh? I can't ask you to –"

"Stop…" Reine interrupted. "He won't listen…"

Hinako frowned before sighing heavily. "I… I can't thank you enough…"

* * *

Shidou sighed as he and Reine walked out of the restaurant, Shidou unsure how to proceed.

Reine, her arms wrapped around his and her head resting on his shoulder, suggested, "Sleep…?"

Shidou just laughed off the recommendation. "That's not part of a date." After a moment his assuredness faded, "… At least… I don't think it is…"

Reine pouted slightly.

"I don't know what to do next…"

"Park…"

"O – Oh… okay."

* * *

After a short walk, the two arrived at a large park with several benches, a large fountain in the center.

Shidou looked around in thought. "Whoa… This is nice…"

Reine nodded as she sat next to him on the bench, her head resting on his shoulder.

"Say, what do you think?" However, he waited for a moment and did not get a response. "Reine?" he called out before looking to his left and saw the woman peacefully passed out. "Huh… she must be really tired…" After a moment he patted her head gently.

Reine mumbled quietly in her sleep. "Shinji…"

Shidou frowned as he heard the name. "… Eh?"

"Don't…" she mumbled weakly.

Shidou just furrowed his brow as he listened.

"Don't… leave me…" she begged quietly, a single tear falling from her eye.

Shidou's frown deepened. ' _… That Shinji person must be really important to her…_ ' After a moment as her tears continued dripping, he pulled her close to him, Reine seeming to snuggle closer as well, causing Shidou's nerves to fire as he felt her orbs against his arm.

"Shin…" she continued mumbling," I promise… I'll… protect you… now…"

Shidou just frowned in ever-growing confusion.

* * *

Over an hour past as Shidou sat with the sleeping Reine against him, before she slowly awoke and the two left.

"Enjoy your nap?" Shidou asked as Reine walked next to him, the woman responding with a silent smile. "That's good. So, what now?"

"Home…" she recommended, still obviously drowsy.

"That sounds good."

* * *

Eventually the duo arrived home and Shidou explained what had happened with Hinako and what she had told him.

Reiri frowned in frustration, Chifuyu far angrier. "Well that's news to me."

"Really?" Twoearl asked, looking at the two women.

Reiri nodded in response. "Neither of us were aware of that gang's activity. At all."

Chifuyu ran a hand through her hair as she growled acrimoniously. "Great, so a faction of Slayers splinters off and a gang has throttled the city while we've been busy playing house. I feel so ashamed…"

"Indeed…" Reiri remarked as she rubbed the bridge of her nose in exasperation.

Shidou frowned in worry as he listened to the two. "We… are going to help her… right?"

Reiri nodded in return. "Yes, if only to make sure you don't get killed. I'll need to call in a few more Slayers than I intended to aid the Fraxinus though."

Shidou just raised a confused eyebrow.

Reiri folded her arms in thought as she ran through her mind. "Now who to add in the deployment list… Maybe someone to keep Kongou and Iowa's destructive 'playing' in check… Or make sure Tatenashi keeps her hands off Shidou… Though that might apply to Yurisia as well…"

A single bead of concerned sweat ran down Shidou's cheek. "… I think I need to be very worried now…" he muttered, Reine displeased as well.

"Why?" Twoearl questioned, Shidou just staring at her in disbelief before sighing in defeat.

"Forget it…"

"Okay, Shi-Kun!" she chirped.

"Time to teach them their place," Reiri snarled, thinking about the gangsters.

* * *

"What a day…" Shidou sighed as he sat on the sofa, Reine sitting next to him.

"The date was great, Shin…"

Shidou frowned with uncertain curiosity as he looked at Reine, who returned the quizzical look.

"Something wrong…?"

"No, it's nothing."

"Okay…" she replied, incredulous.

"So I guess I need to get ready for the next date…"

"Sleep first…"

"But you just took a nap."

Reine pouted somberly, turning angrily as she and Shidou heard strange music and saw Twoearl holding a radio.

"… What are you doing…?"

"Setting the mood!" Twoearl cheered.

Reine frowned at her, irritated.

"What?" Twoearl questioned, Shidou just groaning in frustration.

"Not that…"

"Huh?"

"Sleep…" she argued before dragging Shidou away to his room.

"H – Hey!" he muttered as she dragged him before plopping onto the bed with him next to her. He just blinked in bewilderment before the woman gave an uncharacteristically cute yawn and closed her eyes, cuddling close to him. Sighing in defeat, Shidou wrapped an arm around her. "Sweet dreams, Reine."

* * *

The next morning, Shidou woke up slowly and realized Reine was still asleep next to him. "… Guess she really needed her sleep." He then looked to the doorway of his room where he saw Karen in disbelief in her wheelchair. "… Karen? What's wrong?"

"I – I'm sorry for the interruption!" she stammered before turning around and fleeing the room.

Shidou remained silent for a moment processing what just happened. "… Well that was… weird."

"Great, now you've got Karen wound up," Reiri chided as she walked into the room.

Shidou frowned in confusion. "What'd I do?"

"She thinks that you two were in bed together, not just in the same bed."

"H – Huh!?" Shidou stammered, his face vibrantly red, the commotion causing Reine to slowly wake up.

"Loud…" she groaned as she woke up.

"Well just get out of bed before anyone else –" Reiri urged before the window flung open.

Aika stepped into the room, annoyed. "What's with all… the… shouting…" she trailed off as she saw Shidou and Reine lying in the teen's bed together.

"… Why are you here?"

Pointing at the bed, Aika shouted, "Why are these two in bed!? How could you let that hag take advantage of Shidou?!"

Reiri sighed in annoyance. "They haven't had sex."

"Then what the heck is this!?"

"Reine wanted to sleep next to me," Shidou explained as he sat up, Reine still wrapped around his arm.

"Too loud…"

"Nothing happened, okay, Aika?"

"Right…" Aika answered, unconvinced. "So what's she doing here anyway?"

"Sleeping…" Reine answered.

"After your date yesterday," Twoearl added suddenly.

Aika's eyes went wide as Shidou could visibly see she was about to boil. "WHAT!?"

Reine groaned and grabbed the pillow on Shidou's bed and tossed it, slamming Aika in the face. "Quiet…"

"Well, now you know," Reiri interjected. "You can leave now."

"Not until someone explains why he went on a date with her!"

Aika's anger seemed to pique Reiri's interest, as she narrowed her eyes in thought.

Shidou recognized the look. "… Please don't…"

"Don't what?" Aika asked before Reiri spoke.

"How would _you_ like to go on a date with him?"

Aika's face was so instantly red enough to burn. "HAH!?"

Shidou slapped a hand over his face in exasperation. "… I swear you're building me a harem…" he muttered under his breath.

"You say something?" Reiri asked.

"Nothing…" he groaned.

"Wh – When did I ever say I wanted to go on a date with him!?" Aika continued shouting.

"So you don't?" Reiri retorted.

"I didn't say that!"

"Then which is it?"

Seeing Aika's conflicted frown, Shidou interjected, "Sis, just stop. It's obvious she doesn't want to do it."

Aika's eyebrow began twitching furiously before turning to Reiri. "What day?"

"H – Huh?"

Reiri sported a smirk before answering, "Four days from now."

"Fine!" Aika returned confidently before leaving out the window, Shidou watching in disbelief.

"… Why…?" Shidou begged to his sister.

"Now we have a date set with someone outside of the plan."

Shidou just sighed heavily before Chifuyu walked in and asked, "So who's next on the list?"

"That would be me, but he has school today, so it will wait."

"That's going to be… odd…" Shidou commented with a sigh.

"Really? I don't see what the issue is," Reiri commented, folding her arms under her bust.

"We're siblings!"

"So? It's a practice date."

"Right… it's still weird."

"In any event," she began, completely ignoring his protest, "you need to get ready for school."

* * *

Later in the morning, Shidou sighed as he walked to school alongside Aika, Souji, and Hibiki.

"What's wrong?" Hibiki asked, walking up to him.

"Just a whole lot of crazy at home… I'd… rather not get into it…"

"Okay!" Hibiki chirped cheerily. "Hey, Miku invited me to this concert in a few weeks, but it's a band I've never heard of."

"What's it called?"

"Zwei Wing. Apparently the singers use IS to perform."

Shidou frowned slightly in thought. "I see…" ' _I'll need to bring this up with Sis…_ '

"Anyway, I don't really know the band, so I wanted to know if you wanted to go instead of me."

Shidou remained silent for a moment, thinking. "… Why don't we both go?"

Hibiki tilted her head in confusion. "Huh? But what about Miku?"

"… I mean all three of us."

"Oh. Okay!"

As they walked, Shidou noticed Miku among the group, concerned. "Miku? When'd you get here?"

"… I've _been_ here…"

"Really?" the others asked in unison.

Miku pouted deeply before looking at Aika. "You look pretty happy."

"J – Just a good day…" the blue-haired girl answered before she noticed Hibiki standing still, looking up at the sky. "What…?"

"Look…" she replied before pointing up, the others looking into the sky as well and seeing the visage of a black and red, armored being with dark red eyes in the air.

Shidou's jaw almost hit the ground. "Ah hell…"

 **"Attention inhabitants of Earth! I am Dragongildy, leader of Ultimagil! We are here for the Attribute energy of your people. Cease resistance and you will not be harmed in the acquisition of our resources."**

Shidou immediately pulled out his phone and hit the first number listed.

Reiri, on the other end, answered swiftly. "I see it too."

"Oh, good. Then you know I _really_ need to get an IS soon."

"I see that now. Unfortunately getting one custom-made would take too long, so we'll just need to retrofit an existing one."

Shidou frowned unsurely. "You were going to waste a custom IS on me?"

"It wouldn't have been a waste," Reiri replied swiftly.

"Huh?" Shidou asked, only for Reiri to hang up. He frowned before looking up. "This is bad… very bad…"

* * *

Shortly, Shidou and the girls arrived at school before going to their classes, Shidou sighing as he walked down the hall. "What a mess…"

"Shidou," a familiar, melancholic voice sounded.

Turning, Shidou saw Origami approaching him.

"You saw it? That creature?"

"… Yes, I saw it…"

"Do you plan to fight him?"

"If I had an IS."

Without another word, Origami reached out a hand.

"Huh?"

"We can both destroy it. And the Spirits."

"No," Shidou responded firmly, causing Origami to lower her arm with a frown. "I won't kill the Spirits. I'm going to save them. But that… _thing_ needs to die."

The two remained silently staring at each other for several moments before Shidou groaned as he made his way to the classroom.

"Yo, Shidou!" Hibiki cheered as she ran up to him.

"Oh, hey Hibiki."

"Alright everyone, settle down," Tamae urged shakily as she walked in.

Shidou tried to turn his attention as the woman walked into class.

"I know everyone's pretty shaken up by this morning, but do your best to focus on your studies."

The blue-haired teen twitched an eyebrow at the woman. ' _Easy for you to say. You're not involved in this insanity._ '

"Hey, was that stuff actually real, Ms. Tamae?" Hibiki asked in her usual chipper tone.

Tamae merely shrugged somewhat with a weak laugh. "I can't say. And it's Ms. Okamine, Tachibana. Now, enough of that. We need to focus on today's lessons. To start off, we have a new teacher joining us."

At that moment, Twoearl walked into the room, smirking with excitement. "Hello, everyone!" she cheered, Aika just staring at her with quiet anger. Seeing the various students staring at her, Twoearl smirk with amusement. "Oh, don't get too excited boys, I'm already taken," she declared, Shidou going pale as he anticipated what would follow as she peered around the room before seeing him and waving. "Hi, Shi-Kun!"

He immediately slammed his head against his desk in an effort to escape the situation. ' _Why can't my life be less crazy?!_ ' He sat up slowly and saw the males in the classroom scowling at him, causing him to just sigh heavily, Souji frowned to them.

* * *

"Jeez… What are you doing here?!" Shidou shouted to Twoearl later in the day, privately with just her and Aika.

Twoearl put a finger on her chin in thought. "Well… To learn more about Earth and search for Tail Gear candidates, and other than Souji-Chan there are more here but the scanner I made isn't working right…"

"Are you sure it even works?"

Twoearl furrowed her brow in thought. "Somewhat…"

Shidou just stared at her.

"Maybe I should get Big Sis to look at it…" Without another thought, she reached a hand up and caught Aika's arm as the girl swung at her, causing Aika and Shidou to just stare at her. Twoearl blinked in thought before turning to the twin-tailed girl. "Hm? Oh, hi Miss Aika. Didn't see you there."

Aika wrenched her arm free and just grumbled incoherently at the woman.

"What?"

"Nothing," she bit.

"Okay!" Twoearl answered cheerfully oblivious.

* * *

Soon, the day had ended and Shidou, Souji, Aika, and Twoearl made their way home, Shidou sighing in exhaustion. "What a day…"

However, as they walked, the device Twoearl kept in her cleavage began beeping loudly.

Shidou realized this was not good and asked, annoyed, "… What now…?"

Twoearl's eyes shot wide. "Oh no… there's an Elemelian at the school!"

Shidou immediately pulled out his phone and began to call Reiri, Twoearl grabbing his hand.

"We don't have time for that!" she urged as she pressed several buttons before she, Shidou, and the others were instantly teleported to the school, where Shidou a huge, turtle-like beast stand from a small crater and look at a bunch of female students in gym clothing.

 **"Bloomers… bloomers!"** it howled excitedly before tendrils shot from its back at one of the girls.

"Crap!" Shidou cursed before charging, knocking the girl out of the way and getting smacked by the appendages.

The creature huffed in annoyance at his act. **"Tch… you're in the way!"** it snarled before shooting a blast of water at Shidou, who barely managed to dodge it.

Shidou snarled as he tried to find a way to divert its attention once it turned back to the girls.

Twoearl nodded and turned to Souji. "Miss Souji, it's time!"

"H – Huh?" the redhead muttered in confusion.

"You need to activate the Tail Gear!"

"B – But… how?"

"Easy! Just will it to activate!"

Souji just stared at her before grumbling and raising her arm. "Come on, do something!" Almost immediately she was enveloped in bright light.

As the light died down, Souji was replaced with a young, petite girl with long, twintailed, red hair that faded to orange, bright red eyes, wearing tight-fitting, red and white armor. "Huh…? I feel shorter… and lighter…"

"It worked! It really worked!" Twoearl shouted excitedly.

The young girl blinked in confusion before looking into a window and seeing her reflection. "Huh… neat. Wait… where are my boobs!?"

"No clue! I've yet to find out how Purple gets bazongas either! But just fight!"

"R – Right…" she replied weakly before turning her attention to the monster, which looked at her, puzzled.

 **"Who the hell are you?"**

"I'm…" she trailed off in thought before turning to Twoearl. "Who am I?"

"Tail Red!" Twoearl answered.

"I'm T – Tail Red!" she shouted to the beast.

 **"… Hah?"** the beast remarked. **"Well I'm Turtlegildy, that doesn't explain anything."** The beast just huffed in annoyance before more tendrils appeared from its back. **"Whatever, I'll take your Attribute too!"** it shouted before they surged at Tail Red, only for a basketball, thrown by Shidou, to hit it in the head. **"Piss off!"**

Tail Red reared back a fist and rushed at Turtlegildy, only to go flying straight past the beast and smashed into a wall.

Shidou gaped in shock before Twoearl added weakly, "O – Oh, I forgot to mention, activating the Tail Gear grants a boost to all of your physical abilities."

Tail Red twitched an eyebrow as she pried herself from the wall. "You could've said that earlier!"

"You should've asked."

Turtlegildy huffed and sent more tendrils at Tail Red, who barely managed to dodge. "Gah! I need an attack! Weapons! Something!"

"Punch!"

"I'd _really_ rather not get close to that thing!" she shouted, dodging more of the monster's tentacles.

 **"Gah! Stand still!"**

"Well you've got to!" Twoearl urged.

Tail Red gulped deeply in concern. "This'd better work!" Mustering all of her strength, she sprung forward towards Turtlegildy, arm curled back, and slammed a punch right into the beast's torso, causing a loud groan of pain from the beast as it was sent flying through several parked vehicles. "H – Huh…? That actually worked…"

"Now kill him!"

"With what?!"

"Concentrate on your ribbons! They'll create a weapon!"

Tail Red just stared at her before sighing and concentrating before an idea came to her. She gulped in slight embarrassment before shouting out, "B – Blazer Blade!" Her ribbons glowed a bright orange before a massive red and black sword appeared in her grasp.

Shidou watched in shock before Turtlegildy stood with a growl, Tail Red reacting instantly and swung her sword, sending a powerful slash of energy at the beast, carving it in half, after which it exploded violently.

"Wh – Whoa…" Tail Red noted in awe before looking at the weapon in her hand.

Shidou gaped in shock before he heard excited screams nearby and turned as a group of the girls stampeded towards them. "Oh cra –" he grumbled before being trampled by the group. "… Ow…"

"It worked!" Twoearl cheered with excitement as Tail Red was surrounded by the gaggle of girls.

At that same moment, Chifuyu and Reiri rushed through the front gate, their respective weapons drawn, before they saw the girls gathered around in excitement. "What the…?"

Twoearl blinked in surprise as Tail Red was grabbed and hugged by the crowd. "Huh… I didn't realize there were so many bisexuals here."

Shidou groaned as he saw his sisters looking around. "A little help…?" he begged before Chifuyu pulled him to his feet. "How'd you know?"

Reiri explained, "You called but didn't respond when I answered."

"So what happened?" Chifuyu asked.

"Another Ultimagil attack," Shidou answered. "This time a turtle."

"Well where is it?"

Shidou pointed to the crater nearby. "Souji blew him up."

"… And where is _she_?"

He then pointed to Tail Red trying to escape the crowd.

"… That little girl is Souji?"

"Yes."

Tail Red groaned before wrenching herself free of the group of girls, sending herself flying into a car. "… Ow…" she groaned as Shidou and the others just stared, before seeing the group of excited onlookers start to approach.

Grabbing the dazed redhead and running, the group managed to escape the frenzied flock and find a place away from the rest where Tail Red swiftly reverted to her normal form of Souji.

Souji sighed lightly before looking down and putting her hands on her chest, sighing in relief when she did. "My boobs are back…"

Though her relief was short-lived when she noticed Aika glaring at her.

"Wh – What…?"

Twoearl just sneered at the girl in amusement. "Aw, what's wrong, Miss Aika? Jealous of Sou-Chan's – blergh!" she grunted as Aika whacked her in the back of the head.

"Can it!" the black-haired teen grumbled.

Shidou frowned disapprovingly. "There's no need to attack her Aika…"

Aika winced slightly at Shidou's gaze before turning away with a huff.

"Owie… why are you so mean?" Twoearl asked as she stood up.

"Why are you such a pervert!?"

"Isn't everyone?"

"Not like you!"

Twoearl smirked again with mischief. "So you admit you're one too."

"N – No I'm not!" Aika stammered, her cheeks tinting a deep red.

"But you just agreed everyone is."

"No I didn't!"

"You kinda did…" Shidou muttered, causing Aika to flinch and fold her arms in a pout.

"… Shut up…" she retorted in a manner Shidou found rather cute.

He just sighed and decided to change the subject. "Why don't we get out of here before another crowd forms?"

"Yes, let's," Reiri added.

* * *

Eventually the group got away from the school and made it to Shidou's house, where Souji turned directly to Twoearl and demanded, "What _was_ that!?"

"The Tail Gear!" Twoearl cheered.

"Why'd it turn me into a little girl!?"

"It still has some unintended side effects. It's tech based on the Hearts after all."

"The Hearts?" Shidou questioned.

"Yep!"

"Which are…?"

* * *

 **And cut! That ends the third chapter. Hopefully everyone enjoyed it! If you did, be sure to let me know with a review. If you were confused, unsure, or have questions on anything, such as what series a certain character is from, let me know in a review and I will address your concerns as best I can. Though if your question delves into spoiler territory you would be best served with a PM, as I can answer your question without a spoiler filter. If you did not enjoy the chapter, review if you must, but do try to have a point and a moderate grasp of the English language. Better yet, go do something you actually enjoy instead! My passive aggressive nonsense aside, that is all, so bye-bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter IV**

 **Greetings all! I have come with the next chapter of Armored Spirits! I hope everyone enjoyed the previous chapter, at least some of you did it seems, which is good. If you enjoyed this chapter be sure to leave a review letting me know. That said, I would like to thank my coauthor Bakuto Masaki for all of his help so far and going forward. So, without further adieu, on with the reviewer responses!**

 **Just an Idiot: Um... yay? I think. I don't quite know how to react to that.**

 **Guest: I can understand that. Sort of an inverse of the usual perverted anime characters, and I like it.**

 **If you read between the lines, she already did.**

 **Fortitude: Nope. Have no real desire to do so.**

 **You should really make an account for the site, dude. I enjoy the added review numbers, but I think this topic would be best served in PMs.**

 **Name the ones you don't know and I'll tell you.**

 **Skull Flame: Fuck no.**

 **Kerlongs Evert Orlejov: Fuck. That. I am never, EVER adding more guys to a sex scene besides the MC. At best I'd have him use some kind of cloning magic or similar technology so that there's more of him. Or, better yet, tentacles!**

 **Nah, it's okay, the topic is tangentially related to the story.**

 **Souji is a girl. Oh? Why not?**

 **He's getting the IS, Souji has the TG. I hope it's as fun as you're expecting.**

 **Nowhere, it's an idea me and some cowriters for an old story of mine came up with that ended up getting scrapped, so we used it here. It's mostly original content. Though if you must know, the idea originally sprang forth from TheLastNanaya. I'm sure they will.**

 **It's a really great series, and the most recent volumes have taken a hard left turn on fourth and bananas.**

 **Yeah, it's the kind of thing I watch almost exclusively to use in my stories to "fix" it rather than enjoyment, as I don't enjoy that kind of shit.**

 **Blade1986: With where things are now, you can't even see the bottom yet.**

 **correnhimself316: Shidou certainly has his work cut out for him.**

 **CrocoerGinex01: Can't say I know what Yuki Yuna is, but yes for the rest of it.**

 **Phew! That was a big one! Well, before we get on with the main event, I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is after I put up this chapter, I will be going on an extended hiatus for all writing. I have a bunch of anime, video games, and more to catch up, most of which I plan to use in my stories, so at the very least once it's over my writing should be somewhat improved. But as an apology, and as the good news, this chapter is going to be a bit longer than most chapters I upload, and then I will also be putting up a poll so that you guys can vote what story gets updated when I finally come back from my hiatus, so do look forward to that. With that said, on with the show!**

* * *

"What _was_ that!?" Souji demanded loudly.

"The Tail Gear!" Twoearl cheered.

"Why'd it turn me into a little girl!?"

"It still has some unintended side effects. It's tech based on the Hearts after all."

"The Hearts?" Shidou questioned.

"Yep!"

"Which are…?"

"Divine beings!"

Shidou just stared at her. "Right…"

"They are!" she added with a pout, annoyed that he did not believe her.

"If you say so…"

"How do you get this damn thing off!?" Souji growled as she attempted to pull the red bracelet off of her arm.

Twoearl hummed in thought before looking at her and answering bluntly, "You can't."

Souji just stared in disbelief. "… Wh – What?"

"To make Tail Red work, it had to genetically bond to –" she began to explain before an enraged Aika kneed her in the back of the head.

"You idiot! What the hell's wrong with you?!"

"Gah!" she shouted as she stumbled forward.

"Why would you stick something like that on her?!"

Twoearl frowned as she rubbed her head. "Because she's the best candidate for the old unit."

Chifuyu groaned in exasperation. "I knew you were unstable but this is something else…"

Twoearl just shrugged in response. "Hey, not my fault the best weapons need such a link."

Miharu clapped her hands together with excitement. "I don't believe it, my little girl's a Magical Girl!"

"This is _not_ something to be happy about, dammit!" Souji cursed.

"But this is great! Now you can take on my childhood dream of being a heroine of justice!"

Souji twitched an eyebrow before turning to Twoearl and sticking out her arm. "… Get it off…"

"Okay, but I'll have to strap you to a table, fry your nerves, and rewrite your DNA a bit to do it."

"Eh!?" she shrieked, Shidou just staring in disbelief.

"Yep. Still can't feel most of mine after I removed it."

Souji's shriek turned to a frown of fearful confusion. "… Why did you…?"

"Because I was no longer worthy of having it."

Shidou frowned somberly as Souji stuttered, "A – Ah… Sounds like it'd be more trouble to get rid of it… So I guess I won't."

At that moment Kotori walked into the room, looking rather irritated.

"Kotori?" Shidou asked before Kotori shot a glare at Twoearl.

"What the heck was all that?!"

"What was what spirited one?" Twoearl retorted.

"That stuff with the new IS!"

"What about Tail Red, red tail?" Twoearl asked, raising an eyebrow when Kotori just stared at her. "What?"

"Nothing…" the petite redhead groaned.

Souji raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You're acting a bit weird, Kotori."

"She's a Spirited girl," Twoearl noted.

"Indeed she is!" Miharu added, causing Kotori to look at her with concern before the woman blinked curiously. "Oh wait, you meant Kotori."

Twoearl looked at her in thought. "Who else is so Spirited?"

"Souji," Miharu answered bluntly.

The white-haired woman waved a hand dismissively. "Nah, she lacks Spirit."

"Hey!" Miharu shot back, somewhat insulted.

"What?"

"My girl is plenty spirited!"

"Nope. She lacks it."

Miharu just gave a stern frown at the woman, Shidou looking between them curiously before asking, "Um… What exactly do you mean by Spirited, Twoearl?"

"Huh? It's because s –" Twoearl began to answer before Kotori suddenly leapt up and kneed Shidou in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious.

"Not. Another. Word," Kotori ordered crossly.

Twoearl blinked in shock before nodding. "Right…"

Souji just stared in disbelief. "… Now I'm the one who's confused."

Twoearl urged, "Don't be, or she might get mad enough to set off a Space Quake."

Kotori growled and smacked Twoearl upside the head. "Can it!"

Souji gaped in surprise before stepping back. "… Mom, let's go home."

"Huh?" Miharu wondered.

"I think things are about to get very crazy, we should probably go."

* * *

Sometime after the two left, Shidou groaned as he woke from the attack and sighed. "What a day…" he grumbled before looking at Kotori. "Why'd you knock me out?"

"My leg slipped," the redhead retorted with an ambivalent shrug.

Shidou just stared incredulously. "… Right…"

Twoearl suddenly interjected, "So, time to get the next date set up."

"I already have it set up," Reiri interjected.

"Right, remember not to use protection!" she cheered before Reiri whacked her on the head, hard.

Shidou watched this exchange in exasperation before sighing. "… This is my life…"

"Isn't it grand?" Twoearl asked with a smile, ignoring the large welt on her head.

"It's insane," he shot back.

"At least it isn't boring."

Reiri stepped between the two and grabbed Shidou by the arm. "It's time for the next date, we don't have many days to waste. Now let's go Shidou."

"N – Now?!" he asked in surprise.

"Yes," she answered firmly with a nod.

"Wh – Where to…?"

"Not far."

"Wh – What should I wear?"

"What you have on now is fine," she replied simply.

"Um… okay?" he wondered in confusion as he followed her.

* * *

After a short walk, the two ended up at a small clearing near their home with several gazebos, a small swing set, and other play areas for children and a field nearby.

"This is… a park," Shidou commented in confused surprise.

"Yes," Reiri replied as she walked to one of the covered picnic areas and depressed a section on one of the pillars. "The best place to hide an entrance."

Shidou stared in bewilderment. "… Eh?"

"Come. One of the training ground entrances should be near here."

Shidou still stared in disbelief as a section of the cement floor moved, exposing a long staircase.

Following Reiri down, they entered a large, open area that was well over nine meters high and just as long and wide.

"Th – This is… huge…"

"It's a training area for Slayers."

"And it's been hidden right near our house this entire time…?"

Reiri nodded as she pressed several keys on a nearby panel. "It's so Slayers can train in privacy when not on Little Garden."

"Th – There are that many in this city?"

"Not necessarily. It's just that there is one in any city with a large enough population."

"A – Ah…"

"Well, let's get this date started."

"Right. Wait, _what_?! Our date is here?!"

"Yes," Reiri answered plainly before she began to unbutton her top.

Shidou flinched as he turned away. "Wh – What are you…?" he wondered before glancing back and seeing her now in a loose-fitting black top and dark blue shorts.

"Is something the matter?" she questioned as she stretched.

"N – No… D – Don't you think that shows off a little… much?"

"No, not particularly."

Shidou just sighed before gulping nervously as Reiri got into a fighting stance.

"Now get ready. The real training starts now."

"E – Eh…?" he stuttered, Reiri not answering before charging at him. "H – Hold up!" he shouted before receiving a powerful punch to the abdomen, knocking him back.

"Your enemies won't 'hold up', little brother."

Standing with a groan, he retorted, "I don't even know how to fight like this!"

Reiri frowned in frustration. "Have you forgotten your kendo training?"

"Kendo training is a bit different than fighting with bare fists!" he argued desperately.

"It's the same basic concept. Now _dodge_!"

"H – Hah!?" he gaped, narrowly avoiding her fist this time, only to get a knee to the abdomen, buckling him like a chair. "… That… hurt…"

"You didn't dodge."

"I'm still not sure what the hell's going on! I thought this was supposed to be a date!"

Reiri sighed before folding her arms under her sizable bust. "The dates are to train you. Your date with Reine was partly to train you how to make a good date. This date is to get you better at fighting, regardless of whether you're armed or not."

"Ah…"

"Tomorrow, your date with Chifuyu will be to make you physically stronger, so for now it's my job to make sure that if the Spirits end up getting rowdy you can subdue them without needing to use weapons. Now, _dodge_!"

Shidou winced as Reiri again charged.

* * *

"Pain…" Shidou groaned as he sat up slowly.

Reiri frowned with her arms folded. "You really know nothing about fighting without a sword, do you?"

"I told you that already!" he snapped back. "You never even bothered teaching me hand-to-hand!"

Reiri furrowed her brow in confusion. "We should have. It's the basis of all combat. Only a fool would entrust their life to a weapon."

Shidou just stared silently in exasperation.

"Very well. I'll spend the rest of our time teaching you how to fight with your hands. Might even call Yu-Mi in to help me."

"Who?"

"My partner," she answered plainly.

"I… see? What now?"

"We have a couple hours left, I'll try and teach you the basics in that time."

Shidou sighed heavily. "… Yay…"

* * *

"Sore… Can barely move…" Shidou noted weakly as he and Reiri, back in her usual attire, walked back into the house, Shidou looking worse for wear.

Twoearl gasped in excitement. "Wow, guess you two got really 'active' huh?"

"Yes, we were," Reiri replied, Shidou looking at her incredulously.

"Wow!" Twoearl gasped, Kotori behind her twitching an eyebrow.

His tired face turning red, Shidou shouted, "Sparring! It was sparring and training, not what you're thinking!"

"Aaww…" Twoearl pouted, Kotori heaving a sigh of relief.

Shidou groaned as he flopped onto a chair. "So crazy… Why can't my family be sane…?"

Karen sat beside him with a disappointed pout.

"Tomorrow's my turn then," Chifuyu remarked.

Shidou gulped deeply with fear. "… I'm gonna die…"

"You'll be fine!" Twoearl encouraged.

"Then you train with them!"

"Okay!" she cheered, Shidou just gaping in disbelief.

"… Crazy…"

* * *

Shidou sighed with exasperation as he sat on his bed before hearing a knock and sat up to see Karen wheeling into his room.

"B – Big Brother…?" she asked timidly in the doorway.

"What's up Karen?" he returned as he sat up and motioned her in.

"Are you okay…?" she questioned as she moved over to his bed.

"Yeah, why?"

With a heavy expression on her face, Karen explained, "You look tired, and the others have been dragging you around…"

Shidou looked at her in mild surprise before smiling and grabbing her, gently moving her from her chair to his bed, next to him. "It's okay."

"Are you sure…?" she returned as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah. Don't worry."

"Okay…" she responded uncertainly.

"Are _you_ okay?"

Frowning, she leaned up as best she could to look at Shidou. "There's all this crazy stuff going on and no one will explain it…"

"Ah, it's nothing for you to worry about."

"But I do! You're… you're my big brother! My only one. I don't want you get hurt…"

"I won't. I promise. There's just a lot of stuff going on, a lot of scary stuff. And I have to protect you from it." Patting her on the head with a smile, he added, "And if I got hurt, I wouldn't be around to play with you anymore."

* * *

Outside the room, Chifuyu and Reiri listened quietly.

"So, even like this he's still the same," Chifuyu remarked.

Nodding in agreement, Reiri added, "So it seems."

Sighing heavily with a scowl, Chifuyu thought aloud, "I wonder what Nayuta did to him…"

"I don't know. Maybe the next few days will show us."

"Right…"

* * *

"It's done!" Twoearl cheered the next morning.

"What is…?" Chifuyu questioned with trepidation.

"My secret underground base!"

"It's not much of a secret if you announce it like that," Kotori noted flatly.

"Well you're all the ones who need to know." She then turned to Shidou in realization. "Oh, Shidou, if you could, bring Miharu and Souji over too."

"Why…?"

"Since Souji is Tail Red she needs to know where it is."

"Right…"

* * *

"Now what?" Souji asked as she and Miharu stood in the home's kitchen, before Twoearl pushed a button, causing the fridge to descend into the floor and show a hidden door behind it. "Whoa!"

Reiri looked at her, irritated. "… You messed with the fridge…?"

"It was the perfect size and shape."

"You messed. With the fridge."

Twoearl waved her concerns away. "The fridge itself is fine, I just put it on a lift."

Reiri proceeded to grab the silver-haired woman by the collar. "You messed. With. The. Fridge. Do you have any idea how that will effect Shidou's cooking!?"

"I – It's fine on the inside, I assure you!" she coughed.

Shaking her angrily, Reiri shouted, "Still!"

"S – Sis! It's okay!" Shidou urged, pulling her away from Twoearl. "I – I'm sure everything inside is fine!"

"She. Messed. With. The. Fridge."

"L – Let's just head inside…"

The group all walked through the door and into an elevator that proceeded downward at high speed.

"… How far down does this thing go…?" Shidou questioned as it proceeded further and further.

"Hm… I'd say about two kilometers," Twoearl answered.

His jaw almost on the floor, Shidou shouted, "EH?! How'd you dig a hole that deep in one night? _Why_ did you dig a hole that deep?!"

"Nanomachines and secret base," she answered plainly.

Shidou and the others just stared in disbelief before the elevator stopped with a ding.

"Ah, we're here."

"It's huge!" Aika exclaimed as the door opened to a huge room filled with panels, monitors, and more unknown devices scattered around the area.

"We are so moving here," Miharu declared bluntly.

"Eh?! Why!?" Souji shouted in disbelief.

"It's wonderful!"

"We have a h – you lost the house… didn't you…?"

Miharu stiffened before looking at the wall with a weak smile. "… I didn't say that…"

"… Why do you keep forgetting to pay the lease?!"

"Because I have more important things to spend money on," she answered firmly.

"Like what!?"

"You."

"… How?!"

"Your schooling and everything you need."

Twoearl clasped her hands with a smile. "Aw, how sweet! What a caring mom!"

Reiri sighed and redirected, "Moving on."

"Ah, right, right." Walking over to a set of cylinders with large reflective panels inside, Twoearl explained, "Here we have the matter transmitter. It can send you to any location anywhere on the world in a moment."

Reiri narrowed her eyes in thought. "Really now…?"

"Yes. I can't guarantee it'll send you where we want it to all of the time, but most of the time it will, and your clothes should be on you too, most of the time."

"I would hope so!" Shidou snapped.

"Yeah!" Kotori added, a tic mark popping on her forehead.

Twoearl, ignoring their comments, motioned to the series of large monitors. "We can observe everything going on in the battlefield with these monitors, which are linked up to all the spy satellites."

Reiri stared in bewilderment. "… How do you even have that?"

"Big Sis," Twoearl answered plainly.

"Of course…" Chifuyu sighed.

"Next, over here, we have the recuperation room, in case you ever get heavily injured or extremely exhausted. It'll rejuvenate you real quick!"

"I see…" Souji remarked in slight awe as she looked around.

"This is a lot of stuff. I guess to a degree it's reassuring to have this kind of back up," Shidou remarked in subdued gratitude.

Twoearl nodded with a smile. "I know, right?"

Annoyed, Aika asked, "This is becoming a pretty full-blown thing, just how many guys do these Ultimagil people have anyway?"

Twoearl shrugged in response. "The number is unclear, but if I had to guess I'd say somewhere between one hundred thousand and a million."

The others stared in shock before Aika howled, "You expect Shidou and Souji to fight them all?!"

"Not alone."

"Yeah, well who else can help?"

Concerned, Miharu questioned, "Twoearl, aren't there other Tail Gear candidates?"

Stiffening somewhat, Twoearl laughed weakly. "Well… there is one… but she's still under review, and she's a bit brutish."

Aika folded her arms in thought. "Really? Must be a real bitch."

The others just stared at her before Twoearl stated, "You said it, not me."

Aika raised an eyebrow as the others stared at her. "What? … Why is everyone looking at me?"

"No reason…" Souji muttered quietly.

Aika continued staring at them, perplexed, before her brow went flat in thought following a glare of recognition. "Seriously?! I'm not that mean!"

Frowning, Twoearl noted, "… You called me… that…"

The entire room went silent before Shidou moved things along. "M – Moving on…"

"Agreed…" Souji mumbled.

Suddenly, a loud alarm started blaring.

"Oh great…" Shidou groaned as Twoearl rushed to the large chair at the center of the room.

"We've get Elemelian activity in the city!" she exclaimed as a monitor showed several creatures attacking a large building.

"And I still don't have an IS… Great…"

Souji swiftly transformed into Tail Red and eased, "I can handle them for now."

"Right…" Shidou noted as Tail Red ran to the teleporter and vanished.

* * *

Later that day, Souji sighed as she sat on the sofa of Shidou's home. "That was easy."

"You're getting much better much faster than I did," Twoearl complimented.

As they spoke, Shidou sat nearby, his fists tense with frustration. "Why am I even here…?"

Chifuyu interjected, "Right now that's not what you need to worry about, it's my turn next."

"The point being?"

"It's time to go train you, my way."

Shidou just stared blankly before following Chifuyu to the underground training area once more.

* * *

"So this place again…"

"Yes. However, I highly doubt you're going to enjoy my methods as much as Reiri's."

"More dodgy training…"

"Reiri wants to train you on the intricacies of fighting, I intend to help you become strong enough that you don't need to do much fighting."

Shidou began to sweat in concern.

"I'll go easy on you. Twenty sit-ups, twenty push-ups, twenty squats, three chin-ups, and a two-kilometer run."

"That's going easy?!"

"You want me to add the weights already?"

Shidou just stared in disbelief.

"Thought so, now get to it."

* * *

"Eighteen… nineteen… twenty…!" Shidou gasped as he finished the last of his sit-ups and the exercise routine in general after nearly an hour. "There… done…"

"Good," Chifuyu remarked with a nod. "Now that you're warmed up, I'm going to solidify your sword training. So go get one out of the storage area."

"Right…" he sighed as he went over the large closet and started looking for a sword before he noticed something gleaming in the dim light, and looked up to see an angular, black and grey IS unit with red accents. Grabbing the long katana next to it, he looked at Chifuyu and questioned, "Hey, Sis, why is this IS stuffed in a closet?"

"Hm?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as she walked in and saw the unit. "That old thing? It's called the Flying Swallow, it's one of the old Second Generation units, it was supplanted by the Uchigane. Why?"

"I need an IS. This is a free IS."

Chifuyu looked at him confused before shrugging. "You want to trust your life to this old unit, go ahead."

"Really?!" he asked with excitement.

"Don't blame me when it can't keep up, but you're more than welcome to take it."

"Thanks, Sis, now I can actually be of some use!"

Chifuyu furrowed her brow in confusion before shrugging. "Right… well, this trip is focused on using swords, and I don't have an IS to use, so we'll focus on using the IS some other time."

"Right."

"So grab a training sword and let's get started."

Shidou grabbed one of the wooden swords and approached her.

* * *

After nearly an hour of sparring and trying basic moves, Shidou sighed as he stood with his sword as a third leg.

Chifuyu nodded with approval. "It's good to see you haven't gotten too rusty. Though it's a mystery why you can't transfer these skills to hand-to-hand."

Shidou just stared at her, annoyed. "They're completely different."

"No, using a sword and a gun are completely different. Regardless, that's enough for now, so let's return home."

"Right…"

* * *

"Welcome back! Have fun!?" Twoearl cheered as the two returned.

"No," Shidou replied bluntly, "got an IS though."

That caught Reiri's attention. "Really? How?"

"He found it in a storage unit," Chifuyu explained.

Reiri raised an eyebrow in thought. "You mean one of those old Swallow units?"

"Yes."

"Hm… that's actually quite a good fit for him. Though we need to ensure it still works."

"But, tomorrow's my turn!" Twoearl cheered.

"A shame."

"Aw, why?" she pouted, Shidou and Reiri just staring at her. "What?"

"Nothing," Shidou remarked quietly, causing Twoearl to frown uncertainly.

Chifuyu then spoke up, "Ah, Shidou, you need to be sure to do those exercises every day."

"Yay…" he groaned before hearing the doorbell ring and opening it to see Miharu and Souji at the front door, carrying several boxes. "That was quick…"

"You were serious!?" Aika exclaimed as the two walked in.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Miharu retorted.

"You're _actually_ moving into their house!?"

"Yep! Maybe even witness the conception of my grandchildren too!"

"M – Mom!" Souji stammered, her cheeks turning red.

"What?"

"There's no way you'll be there!"

Miharu gasped with excitement. "Whoa! So you _do_ plan making grandbabies for me!"

Now Souji's entire face turned as red as her hair as she stammered and sputtered. "U – Um…"

Shidou just stared blankly in bewilderment. "I'm going to bed…"

"Take Souji with you!" Miharu cheered with a smile.

Shidou just walked away without another word.

Souji frowned in contention before turning to her mother with irritation. "Mom, you perverted idiot!"

Miharu's lips curled with a frown as Souji stomped away. "I was just trying to help…"

"Maybe pimping out your daughter isn't the best way," Aika retorted.

"But she wants him…"

"Maybe she's just not ready yet."

"I was her age when I met her father."

Aika just stared at her incredulously. "Seriously…?"

"Yep."

Sighing, Reiri interrupted, "I think that's enough crazy for now, just get your stuff where you plan on putting it."

"Okay!" Miharu cheered.

* * *

Shidou groaned as he entered his room and flopped onto his bed. "What a crazy week… So I guess I'm going on a date with Twoearl tomorrow… that should be interesting…" After a moment of thought, he nodded to himself and went to sleep.

* * *

Shidou sighed after finishing breakfast and prepared to head out. "I need a few things, so I'm – huh?" he stuttered as Twoearl suddenly walked up to him and grabbed his arm.

"Nah, ah, ah…" she chimed with a wag of her finger.

"Eh? What?"

"My. Date," she stated with emphasis.

"… R – Right…" he stuttered in concern.

"Don't you want to go on a date…?" she asked with worry.

"I – I do…"

"… You're worried I might do something…?" she questioned with a frown.

"No," he replied bluntly.

"Then why are you so apprehensive?"

"I just don't want to hurt you."

Twoearl blinked once, twice, and then tilted her head from one side to the other, thinking. "Why would you?"

He just stared silently.

Twoearl proceeded to wrap her arms around his left arm, burying his elbow in her cleavage. "Nothing you do could hurt me, Shidou."

"Ah…" he muttered with a combination of concern and embarrassment.

"So, want me to teach ya the basics or want to try what you've learned on me?"

"I'll try what I've learned."

Twoearl excitedly pumped a fist in the air with a grin. "Right! Then lead the way!"

* * *

' _Okay… try to remember what Reine taught you…_ ' Shidou muttered in his mind as he walked with Twoearl. ' _Okay… take her somewhere to eat… something to do… but what does Twoearl like…? Action movies? Or fantasy? Maybe she's a gamer?_ ' Glancing at her in thought as she looked around, Shidou just sighed. ' _Okay, we'll go to the theatre and then I'll just try and watch her reactions. Best plan I can hope for._ '

With that goal in mind, Shidou led the silver-haired beauty to a cinema and did his best to subtly watch her reactions to the various options.

Twoearl just hummed in thought as she looked around.

' _Okay… I think she's spent the most time looking at… this one,_ ' he noted in his mind as he picked a movie he recognized as some form of action-heavy sci-fi.

Next to him, Twoearl blinked before smiling. ' _You pass._ '

* * *

As the two sat in the cinema watching the movie, Shidou gulped slightly as he watched a scene of a monster attacking the pilot of a giant robot. ' _This movie sure is bloody…_ ' He glanced over and noticed Twoearl smiling as she watched it. ' _Well she's enjoying it, so that's good._ ' He then offered her a piece of popcorn, Twoearl opening her mouth happily, though Shidou merely tossed it in, causing her to pout with a chuckle as she ate it.

"So, what do you think?" she asked, seeing the slight bewilderment on his face.

"About?"

"The movie."

"Oh… It's… interesting…"

"Good," she chirped before returning her attention to the film.

' _I hope I'm doing okay…_ ' he wondered anxiously as the film continued.

* * *

"Oh that was fun!" Twoearl cheered as the two left the cinema.

"Glad you enjoyed it," Shidou noted with a slightly tired sigh.

"Yup!"

"Let's get something to eat."

"Right!" she cheered with an energetic fist pump into the air.

' _Where to eat…? Hinako's maybe? No… that might not work with Twoearl… Hm…_ '

"Ooh, this place looks nice!"

Shidou looked up in interest and quickly realized she was pointing at Hinako's. "… Sure."

"Yay!" she exclaimed as they walked in. "Wow, nice place."

"It is," he responded plainly.

The two were quickly greeted by Hinako herself. "Welcome to – oh my, Hida? Back, with another girl," she commented with a sly smirk. "You dog…"

"I know, right?" Twoearl teased with a smirk.

"Indeed. It's almost like he's building a harem."

Twoearl just waved a hand nonchalantly. "Nah. His sister is for him."

Hinako and Shidou both just stared in disbelief at her candidness. "… I was only joking…"

"I'm not," Twoearl responded bluntly.

"I see…" Hinako muttered as several expressions appeared and disappeared from her face before she finally settled on an intrigued smirk. "Well, I hope you enjoy your meal."

"Oh I will," Twoearl returned.

Shidou felt a shiver go down his spine as the two women spoke. ' _… I feel like I should be scared… Very scared…_ '

* * *

"So good…" Twoearl exclaimed as she ate the curry on her plate.

"Yeah, it is," Shidou responded as he ate a steak.

"Yours is better though."

"That's debatable."

"No, it's not," Twoearl replied with the most earnestly sober expression the teen had ever seen on her. "It's the best. You could probably get a job as a five-star chef."

"I highly doubt that, but thanks for the compliment." Twoearl watched Hinako nearby with a suspicious frown before turning to Shidou with her usual smile. "… Shidou, shouldn't we be going?"

"H – Huh? Oh sure."

Hinako pouted as the two paid and then left.

* * *

Outside, Shidou looked at Twoearl, slightly confused. "Why were you in such a hurry?"

"No reason," she chirped.

"I see…" With a heavy sigh, he lamented, "This date didn't turn out like I planned…"

"Oh? I really enjoyed it. You did well."

The teen turned to her with a grateful smile. "Thanks, I'm glad you did. I still think I could've done better."

"I don't think so. Given your level of experience I think you did really well," she offered before wrapping her arms around his right arm.

Shidou gulped as his arm was swallowed into her valley.

"Okay, Shi-Kun?"

"R – Right…"

* * *

"Well?" Reiri asked with curiosity as Shidou and Twoearl walked back into the house.

"It was great!" Twoearl cheered.

"Good. Very good indeed. Meet anyone new?"

Twoearl answered with a shake of her head. "Not anyone new, no."

"I see. Disappointing," Reiri lamented. "If not new, then who was it?"

"The owner of that restaurant. Hinako."

Reiri twitched an eyebrow before sighing.

"Something wrong, Sis?" Shidou asked.

Sighing, Reiri explained, "Hinako. She's not dangerous, but she is a rather… frustrating, shall we say, individual."

Chifuyu added bluntly, "Kotori standard is more mature then her."

"Wow…" Shidou mumbled in disbelief.

Reiri continued, "She doesn't actively try to hurt anyone, but she also enjoys pranks that can go a little too far."

Chifuyu nodded in agreement. "Main reason she doesn't work on Little Garden and all."

Shidou began to feel a sense of foreboding. "Ah… So… Why does she want me?"

"She probably thinks getting close to you would get us to let her back in."

"Ah… why was she kicked out?"

"Because of her pranks."

"Were they really that bad?"

"You don't want to know…" Reiri groaned.

"Ah…"

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room before Shidou decided to break it.

"A – Anyway… how about my IS?"

Reiri folded her arms in consideration. "Tomorrow is a weekend, so we should be able to spend the day getting you used to it."

"Cool." After a moment, Shidou looked around the room in confusion. "Hey, where's Kotori?"

"Not sure," Chifuyu responded bluntly.

"Probably trying to get ready," Reiri explained.

Shidou tilted his head in confusion. "Eh?"

"Did you forget?"

"Oh. The date. Is she really that nervous?"

"How would we know?" Chifuyu retorted.

"Right… anything else?"

"Do your training yet?"

Shidou winced and fell silent.

"Go."

Shidou defeatedly dragged himself out.

* * *

After completing his circuit of exercises in the small park nearby, Shidou flopped against a tree, tired. "Done… So… tired… Need… sleep…" He swiftly fell asleep against the tree.

What felt like mere moments later, he awoke and noticed a warm, soft sensation against the back of his head. Opening his eyes, he saw Reine's face above him. "… Eh?" he muttered before realizing he was laying in her lap.

"Sleep well…?" she asked in her seemingly normal sleepy tone, though she looked somewhat more rested than before.

His face turning red, he nodded slowly. "Y – Yes, thank you…"

"Good…"

"S – So, what are you doing here…?"

"Taking care of you…"

"A – Ah… not what I meant, but… thank you."

"Is something wrong…?"

"… It's nothing…"

"Just tell me who the problem is and I will make them go away…"

"… Th – That's really not necessary…"

"I see… I understand."

Shidou breathed a sigh of relief in response. "Anyway, shouldn't you be on the Foxyinu?"

Reine's lips curled down slightly in a frown. "… Do you want me to leave…?"

Shidou immediately sat up with a firm denial, "No, not at all! I just know you have a job there. I think."

"They will survive without me."

"Kotori is their boss," he deadpanned.

"… The _might_ survive without me…"

"… Right…"

"Did you have your date with her?"

"Yeah."

"Was it pleasant?"

"It was… different."

"I see…" she noted with a frown, causing Shidou to panic.

"N – Not bad, not bad!"

"Good…" she answered, her expression softening.

After a rather pregnant silence, Shidou spoke up with a question. "Hey, um, can I ask you something…?"

"Yes," she replied with a nod.

"Why do you care so much about me?"

Reine remained silent for several moments as her face subtly shifted with thought.

After a lengthy pause, Shidou interjected, "Reine?"

"Yes?" she replied, her face still somewhat caught in uncertainty.

"If you don't want to tell me, it's okay. I was just curious."

"It's not that… It's something you'd not understand yet…"

"I see?" he responded, somewhat perplexed. "If you say so."

"Good…"

"… Can I ask you something else?"

She merely nodded.

"… Who's Shinji…?"

Reine remained silent for a moment, thinking. "… Someone close to a lot of people… Including Nayu…"

"I see… wait, Nayu?"

At that moment Reiri showed up, interrupting the conversation. "There you are. I've been looking for you Shidou."

"H – Huh?" he stuttered as he turned to her.

"You've been gone for almost three hours."

"… Eh?!" he gasped before turning to Reine in shock. "Why'd you let me sleep so long?!"

"You looked peaceful."

Shidou just stared at her as Reiri sighed.

"What?"

"Shidou, home," Reiri ordered.

"R – Right!" the teen stammered before sprinting away, leaving Reine with a pout.

"… Mean…"

"What are you doing here?" Reiri interrogated.

"Bismarck can handle commanding Fraxinus. I'm not needed much."

"I see," Reiri answered suspiciously before a man in a suit, or rather, the corpse of a man in a suit, slumped over from behind the tree with a large hole in his chest. "That explains a lot."

Reine merely nodded. "He was trying to take Shin. I stopped him. Hard."

Reiri narrowed her eyes in thought. "I see… Does he work for…?"

"No, he works for DEM."

"I see."

"They are a threat to Shin. Nayu isn't."

Reiri merely huffed with a shrug. "That's debatable, but okay."

"… You shouldn't hate her."

Not acknowledging her statement, Reiri urged, "You can go back to the Fraxinus or with me to our house, but either way I'm heading home."

"Right…"

* * *

"That was irresponsible!" Karen chided Shidou loudly.

"Eh?" Shidou muttered.

"Being gone that long, and making us worry!"

"… I'm sorry…"

Karen shook back in her chair somewhat, surprised at the response. "… O – Okay, as long as you understand, Big Brother."

"Okay…? Anyway, have you seen Kotori yet? I'm getting kinda worried."

"No."

"I see…"

Reiri walked in with Reine, somewhat confused, before they all heard loud banging nearby.

"What was that?"

"Nothing important," Karen argued. "So why don't we go out, Big Brother?"

"You mean on the date tomorrow? But it's Kotori's turn."

Reiri narrowed her eyes in thought.

Karen frowned slightly in thought. "Not today?"

"No, it's tomorrow."

"Ah…" Karen remarked before turning to the side with a frown, whispering, "Darn, I acted too quickly…"

"You say something?" Shidou questioned curiously.

Turning back to him with a bright smile, Karen answered, "No, nothing at all, Big Brother," before she noticed Reiri approaching the home's hallway closet.

As she opened it, Kotori, tied up with a rope and a bandage around her mouth flopped out, growling.

Karen gasped in shock. "Oh no! Kotori messed with Big Sis Chifuyu's liquor again!"

Kotori muffled and growled in response, though unable to really speak.

"You should stop doing that," Reiri chided.

"HHMM!"

"I'm going to untie you, but then you need to go apologize to Chifuyu."

Kotori twitched an eyebrow as she looked at Karen, though Shidou sighed in exasperation and relief. "Well at least the issue isn't you being nervous."

"Yeah," Karen added with a nod.

Kotori just continued to glare before Reiri ripped the bandage off. "Yowch! Be gentle! Besides, it wasn't Sis, it was Karen!"

"Huh?"

"Seriously?" Shidou asked in disbelief.

"I heard a wheelchair moving and then, BAM! Frying pan against my head!"

Reiri sighed as she folded her arms. "If you're going to pass blame, at least make it believable."

"It's true!"

"Right…" Shidou muttered incredulously, Karen beside him looking as innocent as ever.

Kotori just gaped in disbelief.

"Well?" Reiri urged.

"… I'm sorry…"

"Good."

Shidou sighed as the event continued.

* * *

Later that night, Shidou sat in his room looking over Flying Swallow, folded up in the corner of his room. "Wonder what it can do… Maybe I can get out without them noticing." After a moment of thought he quickly equipped the unit and proceeded to slowly move his way through the house. "Okay so far…" However, he was stopped when he rounded a corner and saw Reine standing in the hallway.

"What are you doing?"

"Uh… going out for a walk?"

"In a full IS unit?"

"… Yes. Got to get used to it. Right?"

"I see." After a moment of quiet, Reine merely walked away.

' _Good… she bought it. Now to get out of here._ '

* * *

Shidou sighed in relief as he made his way into the city's park. "Okay, didn't get spotted by anybody. Now to get this working… Let's see if I can draw the sword first…" With a swing of his arm, a long, curved katana with portions sticking off the back appeared. "Good… Now to try and get used to movement… Shouldn't be hard." He proceeded to practice several swings and maneuvers with the sword. "So far so good. Now… to see if it can still fly…" After a moment of standing still, he frowned in thought. "… How _do_ I make it fly…?"

"Jump and then angle your feet downwards," Origami explained, suddenly standing beside him.

"Oh, tha – kya!" he shrieked as he jumped in shock as he noticed her. "O – Origami!? How long have you been there!?"

"A little bit."

"… How long is a little bit…?"

"Since you got here."

"… A bit creepy, but okay… Anyway… that's how I get it to fly?"

"Yes. You need to angle your feet after the jump or you'll slam into the dirt."

"Okay. Like this?" Shidou asked as he made a small hop and then pointed his feet down, causing him to instantly shoot straight up into the air uncontrollably before his flailing aimed him back down and he slammed into the ground, hard. "… Ow…"

"I forgot to mention, how far down you point your feet determines the power of the thrust."

"That's an important detail to miss…" he groaned as he lifted his head from the dirt. Sighing, he stood up and tried again, just barely angling his feet down, resulting in him unsteadily floating in the air. "… Well this is," he stopped as he stumbled but managed to right himself before he could slam into the ground again, "is an improvement… I think. That said… I'd best keep practicing…"

"Yes."

Managed to land himself without too much trouble, he sighed before looking at Origami. "This is much harder than I expected. How do you do it?"

Origami merely tilted her head in confusion.

"Using these things," he explained, motioning to the armor on his body.

"I trained."

"… That's not… oh forget it."

"Want help?"

"Yes."

Nodding, Origami quickly summoned her IS, the same armor she had worn before.

"Beautiful…"

"What?" she asked, having not heard him.

"N – Nothing."

"Okay? Just copy me."

"Right…"

* * *

After a period of time working with Origami, Shidou stood in the air, hovering comfortably, occasionally wobbling but righting himself swiftly. "I… I think I'm getting the hang of this…"

"Yes. Now try some swings," Origami suggested, at which point Shidou swung his sword a few times, knocking himself off-balance and nearly causing him to spin into the ground, though Origami flew over and managed to catch him, stopping him from falling.

"… Thanks…" he answered, embarrassed, before his face turned red as he felt a soft pressure against his arm. "Soft…"

Origami merely looked at him curiously, tilting her head in thought.

Feeling his face heat up even more, Shidou quickly put distance between himself and Origami. "… S – Sorry…"

"For what?"

Shidou stared at her in disbelief.

"Shall we continue?" she asked, redirecting the conversation.

"Sure…" he answered, uncertain of how her mind worked.

* * *

Shidou slumped on a bench with a groan after deactivating his unit. "Well that was fun…"

Origami, showing no signs of fatigue at all, nodded in agreement, a minute smile on her face, almost imperceptible had Shidou not been as close as he was. "We should do this again."

"Right. Now… I should probably get home…" he muttered, both in truth and in an effort to exit the awkward situation. As he began to leave, Origami called out to him once more. "Y – Yes?"

"Please… don't help the Spirits…"

"Even though they need it?"

Origami just silently stared, a frown subtly on her lips.

"Anyway, why are you so determined to just kill them?"

"They do nothing but kill people. When the First Spirit did nothing but appear, it killed millions of people, and each time a Spirit appears in our world, it endangers the lives of innocent civilians."

"And? The Nova seem way worse to me."

"We're trying to wipe them out too."

"Have you ever thought of asking the Spirits for aid? Seems to me Spirits can be reasoned with. Nova can't. Or does your personal hatred of them blind you to that option? And if so, if it came to it, you'd probable kill me if it meant killing a Spirit."

Origami winced but remained silent, causing Shidou to frown in disappointment.

"I feared as much…"

"No," she suddenly answered firmly.

"Huh?"

"I wouldn't hurt you to get to a Spirit. I would find a way around you."

Shidou frowned again, this time frustrated rather than disappointed. "… And if there wasn't one?"

"I hope I don't have to make that decision."

"Because you'd take the shot and kill me."

"Not if I can avoid it."

"Best way would be not to kill them."

"I can't do that."

"And why is that?" Shidou questioned, starting to grow further incensed.

"They need to pay…"

"Did your family's death hurt that much?"

Origami stared at him with subdued shock before quickly returning to her normal expression. "… I don't see how it wouldn't."

"… I see… What would happen if you or I somehow became one?"

Origami went completely silent, as if her mind had completely shut down.

"… Origami?"

"I don't…"

"Don't what?"

"… I need to go," she urged before turning and leaving.

"Why?" he called out before sighing as she was out of earshot. "Another failed attempt… just great… At least it can't get any worse…"

The area was suddenly shaken by a larger and powerful explosion, and Shidou turned to see a massive black space quake erupt at the school.

"… Oh goddammit!" he cursed before running off towards the explosion.

As he approached the school itself, he noticed a faint purple light shining from within one of the shattered windows. "… Crap… is it her…?" Sprinting close, and as he expected, he saw the black-haired, armor-clad girl at the center of the explosion, moving towards one of the classrooms. After taking a moment to think the situation over he approached her. "You okay?"

She turned to him, startled.

"What's wrong?" he asked, keeping a neutral expression as he thought, ' _I don't care how dangerous it's going to be… I don't want to see her make that expression again._ '

"What are you doing here…?" she asked suspiciously.

"I… I saw the light from your appearance." Their admittedly short conversation was interrupted when Shidou's phone began to ring and he reached for it, causing the armored girl to narrow her eyes and raise her sword defensively. "I – It's not a weapon, calm down, please."

Looking at the small, strange device, she nodded slowly, keeping her eyes on him as she lowered her sword.

"Hello?"

"Ah, Shidou, perfect timing," Kotori, on the other end, speaking in her black ribbon persona, retorted.

"Kotori, right now isn't a good time."

"Now is the best time, since you're in conversation with Princess."

"I'd say worst."

"Oh don't be like that. We've got our team of experts ready to guide you through the right choices!"

"This isn't a game!" Shidou shouted angrily. "And don't even think of saying life is one!"

"Tch, well do you think you can win her heart on your own? You may have been training the past week, but I can't vouch for the usefulness of most of it in regard to subduing Spirits."

The armored girl narrowed her eyes and moved closer to try and hear the conversation.

Shidou began to sweat as he worried what Kotori might say next. "Um, I need to go. Bye."

* * *

Kotori twitched an eyebrow as the call ended. "… He hung up on me."

* * *

 **And there you have it! Another chapter down for Armored Spirits. Hopefully you all enjoyed it, be sure to leave a review if you did. If you were confused, unsure, or simply have questions on anything, leave a review letting me know and in the next reviewer responses, whenever that may be, I will answer your concerns. If you did not enjoy the chapter, review if you must, but having a coherent understanding of the English language and a point would be helpful. Anyway, until I am done with my hiatus, this is me, signing off.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter V**

 **Hallelujah! I have returned! Another chapter of Armored Spirits. Hopefully everyone enjoyed the previous chapter, at least a few people it did it seems, which is a relief. Let me know if you enjoy this as well, please. Keep the reviews coming! I know this is the first story update I have done in a looong time, so hopefully it's worth it for the people who wanted it. On to the reviewer responses!**

 **Guest: Soon. Once I start doing Lemons it'll happen.**

 **Oh it certainly will be that, I assure you.**

 **Good: It would be far easier if you just list the ones you don't recognize than for me to itemize each and every brand new character and the series they're from, since it would make chapters take _even_ longer to do.**

 **Fortitude: It's aliiive!**

 **There's plenty of hotties cumming. Plus some more that'll show up too.**

 **Eventually.**

 **Travis Moon: Well there's no way to hide spoilers in reviewer responses. If I could, I wouldn't have any problems putting spoilers in it, but I can't. and since the majority of people don't like spoilers I've got my hands tied here.**

 **Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov: Sorry, I just hate that kind of thing. It is, because it can't work. Having a harem story with multiple distinct males involved is just not possible unless some of those males are purely for comedic support like the always infamous Sunohara.**

 **How is it insulting?**

 **Yeah, it's become a mess.**

 **Agreed on that front.**

 **Indeed.**

 **Tsugou no Yoi Sexfriend.**

 **hornofdesolation: As usual.**

 **And that does it! All done with reviewer responses. On with the main event!**

* * *

Kotori twitched an eyebrow as the call ended. "… He hung up on me."

"So…?" Reine asked sleepily as she read a book titled 'Mothering for Dummies'.

"How are we going to help him not get killed if we can't talk to him!?"

"Shin will be fine… He's a lady killer…"

Twitching an eyebrow, Kotori retorted, "We want him to _not_ kill her!"

"Aw, how cute," Twoearl cooed. "She doesn't know what Lady Killers are."

Kotori looked at her with annoyed suspicion. "… They aren't people that kill women?"

Reiri gave her a light smack on the head. "No, dummy. She means he is irresistible to women the first time they meet him."

Kotori just looked at her in further confusion, Reine continuing to have her head buried in her book.

* * *

Shidou stood opposite the woman, somewhat scared, with his hands raised. "So… w – we're good now… right?"

The woman looked at him suspiciously before slowly lowering her weapon. "I've seen you before."

Shidou nodded fervently, hoping to steer the discussion elsewhere. "Yeah. We met a few days ago."

She narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. "You said you had no intention of killing me. If that was the truth, what do you want with me?"

Shidou frowned in frustration as he splayed his arms to the side. "It's the truth. Look at me. I'm not a killer."

She just looked him in the eyes with suspicion, a frown deepening on her face.

That expression elicited anger from Shidou. "… Why…?"

She just raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Why do you look so sad…?"

The armor-clad woman did not know how to react to that.

"Not all humans are trying to kill you…"

She hissed at his words. "You're lying. Every human I've ever met said I must die."

"What? I won't. I have no intention of it."

"Then why'd you come here?"

Shidou remained silent as his brain fished for the right words, the right way to say what he wanted to express. "I… I came here… I came here to meet you. To talk with you, that's it."

The woman's suspicion momentarily turned to surprise before a twinge of anger hit. "I'm not in the mood for games."

* * *

Kotori slammed her hand on a table as she and the others watched events unfold on a monitor. "Dammit! He needs our help or he's going to screw this up!"

Reine, without moving her gaze up from her book, pointed to a screen floating near her, showing a silhouette of the armored woman with several meters, most of which were filling up swiftly.

"E – Eh…?" the redhead stammered.

"As I said."

* * *

The dark-haired beauty stared at Shidou with a perplexed gaze. "Why? Why did you want to meet me? Why do you care?"

Shidou dug his foot into the floor somewhat as he fumbled for the right words. "Because… because… because you looked so sad… That kind of look… It shouldn't be on your face…"

She twitched slightly, but lowered her face somewhat, attempting to hide a redness filling her cheeks. "… You're lying. What do you really want?"

Shidou finally reached a peak of frustration with her deflections. "I'm not dammit! I'm just here to meet you! To talk with you! I don't care if you're bored and just ignore me. But I can't… I can't let you have that expression… I'm not going to just abandon you like that!"

The woman raised her head, her eyes wide with shock, her entire attention focused on the teen, her face swiftly brightening with redness.

* * *

Reiri was distracted from the monitor when she heard several loud beeps.

Reine looked up at the scan of the girl's body and remarked, "Her mental levels are skyrocketing. Which is good."

* * *

She turned away slightly, trying to hide her expression from Shidou, and remarked in a soft voice, "You… You said your name is Shidou… right?"

Shidou just nodded in response, beginning to feel some relief. "Yes. And yours?"

The girl flinched slightly before looking at the floor. "… I… don't know."

Shidou frowned in confusion and disappointment, before the girl turned directly towards him.

"… You promise you won't reject me?"

Shidou nodded firmly. "I promise."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Really, really?"

"Really, really."

"Really, really, really?"

"Really, really, really. I swear."

She smiled slightly before turning her gaze away from him slightly, scratching her head in thought. "I don't know what your real intentions are, but… you're the first human to talk to me normally," she noted with a small smile. "I'll use this opportunity to gather information about this world." She nodded uncertainly to herself at that. "Yes, information's important."

Shidou just smiled as she spoke.

Blinking in thought, the woman turned back to him with that same, insecure smile. "Not having a name doesn't bother me, but I guess I'll need one if we're going to talk. What do you want to call me, Shidou?"

"What do I want to…" he muttered to himself. ' _Crap… I've never been really good at naming things… Okay, just think Shidou…_ ' He looked around the room, desperate for inspiration, before something sparked an idea and he looked at her with a confident smile. "Tohka. I think… the name Tohka suits you."

* * *

Back at the house, Reine sat silently for a moment before pulling out a phone and dialing a number.

* * *

Shidou ignored the phone buzzing in his pocket as he wrote on the board with some chalk. "There, that's how you write it."

She hummed in thought as a faint purple light appeared on her fingertip and she engraved the same symbols onto the board. "Toh… ka… My name is… Tohka…" she said to herself before a giddy smile momentarily appeared on her lips that she quickly tried to hide. However, when she looked at where Shidou had written his own name, she frowned. "Why does yours have more characters than mine?"

"Huh? Oh, that's because it's my full name, Shidou Hida."

"Human names have two parts? Why doesn't mine?"

Shidou winced in concern. ' _Crap, I have to come up with a second one…? Okay, just think…_ ' "R – Right… How about… Yatogami?"

* * *

Reine sighed in disappointment as she stowed her phone away.

Only Twoearl seemed to notice this. "Something wrong?"

Reine merely shook her head. "Nothing…" ' _I wanted her to have my last name…_ '

Kotori blinked as something on the screen caught her attention and she paled, instantly pulling out her phone and calling Shidou in a rush. "Dammit, come on, answer…!"

* * *

Back on the ground, Shidou reached out a hand to the girl with a smile. "Well, Tohka Yatogami, why don't we go on a… a, um… a date?"

Tohka raised an eyebrow in thought. "Date?"

Shidou was about to respond when his phone began ringing. He silenced it, only for it to immediately ring again. He answered it only long enough to say, "No advice," and then hung up again. He then intended to power it off, but was stopped when Tohka suddenly grabbed him by the arm, pulled him close, and raised her hand, creating a purple bubble of energy around the both of them, which began sparkling as a hail of bullets rained down from above.

Shidou's mind raced as he tried to figure out what was going on, before seeing the numerous AST Slayers in the sky. Hearing his phone ring once more, he angrily answered it. "Now's a bad time!"

"Get down!" Kotori exclaimed over the line, completely ignoring his words.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious! Could have warned me sooner!" He could almost feel her glare.

"I tried! You didn't answer your phone!"

Shidou just twitched an eyebrow, before wincing as the barrier was rocked by a rocket fired from one of the Slayers.

"Shidou!?" Kotori shouted in worry.

"Little busy!" he snarled.

"You and Princess need to get out of there before things get bad!"

" _How_ can things get worse?!" His answer came when he looked up and saw Origami with the group of fighters. "Dammit, I need to learn to shut up… Tohka let's go now."

Tohka shook her head firmly, keeping her arm raised. "If I turn my back, the Mecha-Mecha Squad will shoot me."

Shidou tightened his fists before pushing himself away from Tohka somewhat.

"Shidou!?"

Shidou slammed his fists together before the Flying Swallow appeared around his body in a flash of light. "… Then run while I distract them."

Tohka stared in bewilderment, disbelief, and trepidation.

"Now go!" he demanded before turning to the Slayers, before blanking. ' _Wait… does this thing have any ranged attacks…?_ '

* * *

Up in the sky, one of the group of four Slayers, a girl with long brown hair tied in a ponytail and a very voluptuous figure, looked to the commander in thought. "They're still holding the barrier, Ryouko."

Ryouko, a somewhat well-developed woman with long black hair tied in a ponytail, frowned slightly in response. "It's Lieutenant in the field, Houki."

Houki twitched an eyebrow. "Right, but what do we do about it? We need to break through that barrier to do any damage."

Another Slayer, a petite girl in combat armor with long brown hair in pigtails, raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Wait, is that a person down there?"

"That's absurd, Mikie," Houki shot back.

* * *

Back on the ground, Shidou demanded as he grabbed Tohka by the hand, "Don't just stand there, go!"

Origami looked down from her aerial perch and saw Tohka standing next to Shidou. ' _She kidnapped him…_ ' she thought before firing a series of rockets and charging down at the two.

"Origami!" Ryouko shouted as the girl raced off.

"What's gotten into her!?" Houki exclaimed.

Taking a gamble, Shidou raised a hand, firing a blast of energy from his palm that soared towards the flying girls, only to sail past them harmlessly.

* * *

Houki watched the shot fly past them in disbelief. "Dammit, Lieutenant, the Spirit's attacking!" She prepared to draw a long blade from her unit, only for Ryouko to put a hand up.

"Despite Origami's rashness," Ryouko chided, "we can't go in with a civilian still in the way."

Houki clenched her fingers before snarling. "… Fine…"

* * *

Tohka continued to stand, locked in shock.

Shidou let go of Tohka and turned to the approaching Origami, his blade colliding with Origami's and sending it off target.

The white-haired girl just stared in disbelief. Her confusion turned to anger as she demanded he move aside.

"Not a chance!" Shidou retorted. "I won't let you hurt her!"

Origami felt her bewilderment grow, wanting to push him aside and take out the Spirit.

"Now stop attacking her, or I'll retaliate!"

Houki squinted as she stared down at the confrontation. "Wait, that boy… he… He's using an IS!" she exclaimed in disbelief, seeing Shidou's Swallow.

"Really?!" Mikie exclaimed in excitement. "That's incredible!"

Ryouko frowned in bewilderment. "The hell…? Wait, do you think he's…"

Shidou snarled as he realized the others had taken notice and dropped into a sword fighting stance.

Ryouko sighed before racking a round. "That may be true, but to me it looks like he's aiding the Spirit. Meaning he's an enemy as well and needs to be eliminated just the same."

"Understood," Houki answered stiffly before drawing her blade.

Origami stiffened slightly before charging, managing to circle around Shidou.

"Tohka!" Shidou shouted before kicking off towards Origami and blocking her blade yet again.

Origami hissed and swung at Shidou, trying to bat him away, though he blocked it with one of the sets of armor paneling on his shoulders before managing to land a kick that sent her flying into a wall.

"Origami!" Ryouko shouted in worry.

Seeing Tohka still standing there, dumbstruck, Shidou demanded, "Tohka I said run!"

Tohka stared in frozen bewilderment before hissing as she stomped her foot. "Sandalphon!" A giant, throne-like pillar appeared out of the ground, with Tohka pulling her glowing sword from its peak, the pillar sinking back into the ground when she did.

"Dammit!" Houki cursed as she watched Tohka summon her weapon.

Nodding to herself, Ryouko ordered, "Shinonono, it's time to attack."

"About time!" she retorted before drawing her blade and preparing to charge.

"Shidou, get out of there!" Kotori demanded, having managed to activate the comm in Shidou's unit.

"I'm not leaving Tohka here!" he argued.

"Get away from him!" Tohka cried desperately as she swung her sword, sending out a massive blast of energy that Shidou and the girls barely managed to dodge, which blasted off a large chunk of the school.

Shidou just stared in disbelief before slapping a hand over his face. "Well… at least school will be closed for a few days… Guess that'll be helpful…"

Origami growled and rushed at Tohka again, the black-haired girl firing a blast of energy from her palm, which the white-haired girl blocked before positioning herself in front of Shidou. "Stay behind me, Shidou."

Shidou felt the urge to slam his palm through his face. "Hah?! You're the reason for this mess! So just leave and stop attacking her!"

Origami turned to him in bafflement.

"If you refuse, I won't hold back to stop yo –!" Shidou suddenly lurched forward as several explosions hit him from behind.

Origami gasped before turning to see the rocket tubes on her teammates' weapons smoking.

"Origami! He's clearly with the Spirit!" Ryouko shouted.

"So finish him off already!" Houki added.

Mikie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I wanna go home already."

Origami's face went as pale as her hair as she looked at Shidou.

Seeing her gaze on him, Shidou readied his sword, expecting an attack from the girl.

' _I… I can't…_ '

Ryouko growled and swung her arm outward. "Open fire!"

The Slayers then proceeded to fire a barrage of missiles at the distracted Shidou, only for them all to explode harmlessly as Origami tossed her sword at them.

"What?! Origami, what are you doing!?" the woman gasped.

"T – Tobiichi?" Shidou wondered, perplexed.

"You will not harm him," Origami warned darkly to her one-time teammates.

"Origami?!" her commander shouted, baffled. "You can't be serious!"

Origami drew a second energy saber from her waist and readied it. "I am. I have every intention to kill the Spirit. But harm Shidou, and I will kill you." She firmed her words by firing a flurry of rockets at the other Slayers.

"Dammit, evasive maneuvers!"

Houki furrowed her brow as the missiles flew in, managing to easily cut them all with a series of slashes, destroying the rockets. ' _Shidou…? No, it couldn't possibly be the same person. He wouldn't help monsters like the Spirits…_ '

Tohka flew up to join Shidou, with Origami turning her attention to the Spirit. "I hate you," Origami declared coldly, causing Tohka to look at her, annoyed and surprised. "I plan to kill you."

Tohka tensed and raised her sword.

Origami then turned her attention to the other Slayers. "But Shidou is more important."

Shidou widened his eyes in awe, Tohka staring suspiciously.

"So for now, I'm on your side." And with that, Origami took off at one of her opponents, her left hand firing a barrage of shots from her rifle.

Ryouko dodged her shots, retaliating with a shotgun blast. "Origami, what are you doing!?"

"I'm sorry, Kusakabe, no, Ryouko, but I can't let you do this."

Ryouko frowned deeply as she readied herself for a fight. "I'm sure you have your reasons for doing this, Origami, but that doesn't mean I understand them!" She dashed to the side as she opened fire on Origami, the white-haired girl easily dodging the shots.

* * *

Shidou sighed as he watched Origami's battle, only to get surprised by a flurry of shots in his direction. He turned to see Mikie charging at him.

The girl seemed to stare at him with excitement.

"… What?"

"I actually get to fight the world's only male Slayer! I'll save killing the Spirit for later, I can't let this opportunity slip by!" Saluting rather comically, the girl added, "I, Mikie Okamine, shall be your opponent!"

"Um… you're welcome? Wait, Okamine, like my homeroom teacher!?"

Rather than answer his question, the excitable girl merely launched a barrage of missiles in his direction.

* * *

Tohka looked at the remaining Slayer, Houki, who just stared silently at her. "I'll make this quick," Tohka threatened before charging at immense speed.

* * *

Shidou dashed to the side, avoiding Mikie's shots, before retaliating with a few blasts of his own, all of which Mikie easily avoided.

The girl pouted in return. "You're not very good at this, are you?"

"Well I just started using the damn things last week! Besides, I'm not here fighting for sport, I'm fighting to protect Tohka!"

Mikie tilted her head in confusion. "Tohka? You mean that Spirit?" she asked as she charged at him, the bayonet-like sword attached to her gun slicing at Shidou.

"O – Of course!" Shidou answered in distress, narrowly avoiding the strike.

"But why?"

He blocked another swing from her with his own sword, before pushing her away. "Because she hasn't done anything wrong!"

She pointed down. "Look at the massive whole in the school, and all the people her Spacequakes have hurt!"

"Do you seriously think they were all caused by her?! Besides, what makes you think she tries to hurt people with the Spacequakes?"

Mikie stood still for a moment, blinking in thought. "Uh… um… that's just what Origami told me."

Shidou twitched an eyebrow in retort. "If you believe her so much, why are you fighting me?"

"Because it seems fun!" she answered with nary a moment's pause.

He just stared quietly before sighing.

* * *

Tohka charged at Houki, who easily dodged the girl's swing, only to retaliate with her own.

Tohka barely managed to swing Sandalphon around to block, but her momentum was turned on her by the sheer force of Houki's swing, before the latter slammed a foot into the Spirit's abdomen and sent her crashing through the gymnasium's roof.

* * *

"Tohka!" Shidou shouted, preparing to aid the girl, getting cut off by a stray missile fired from Mikie.

The girl kept her excited smile. "You're still fighting me!" she exclaimed before firing off a series of rifle volleys.

Shidou managed to swerve and avoid most of the shots, his shoulder armor and leg armor getting grazed by the bullets.

Drawing the energy sword from her waist, Mikie rushed at Shidou, the blue-haired teen narrowly dodging the swing, only for Mikie to turn one of her launchers at Shidou and fire it at close range.

He shouted in pain as the missile exploded right at his torso, sending him flying. "Dammit! I thought this thing was supposed to have some kind of barrier!"

"I told you it was an older model unit," Reiri commented over the radio. "The energy fields in those older units weren't up to much, mostly just able to protect from falling debris and practice bullets. They're basically useless against live ammunition."

"Oh for the love of… fine!" He raised a hand and sent another energy blast at Mikie, the girl easily knocking it out of the air.

"Gotta fire something faster than that to catch me off guard!" she taunted as she dove at him.

Shidou swiftly flew up, causing Mikie's momentum to carry her past him.

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!" she fumbled as she slammed into one of the support pillars standing in the remaining section of the school, causing the wall to crumple down on top of her.

Shidou winced as the structure collapsed before sighing. "Sorry, I hope you're okay, but you picked the wrong side." He then turned his attention to Tohka, who was hopelessly locked against Houki, barely able to block each strike the girl sent at her.

Houki raised her sword high to strike Tohka from above, but was stopped when Shidou dove between them and used his own blade to stop her attack. Seeing him, Houki winced slightly. "I don't know why you share his name, but you need to stand aside."

Shidou readied his sword once again. "Not a chance. I'm not letting you hurt Tohka."

"That _thing_ is nothing but a monster that causes destruction!"

Tohka flinched at the verbal assault, however Shidou put his hand in front of her. "She's not a monster, she's a person, just like us!"

"You can't be serious. So what, you cause an explosion every time you enter a room?"

Shidou growled before sighing. "I can see talking isn't going to get me anywhere. So if you refuse to leave her alone, I'll take you down myself."

"You can join that monster in oblivion then!" she howled before jets fired on her suit and sent her hurtling forward.

' _So fast!_ ' Shidou barely had time to raise his sword to defend, amazed at the girl's raw strength. Not willing to put Tohka in danger, he pushed back with his own force, before the panels on the rear side of his sword split open. ' _What?_ ' With a bright glow of red, jets of energy shot backward from the blade, bashing it forward and sending Houki crashing to the rooftop below.

Despite the unexpected retaliation, Houki backflipped in midair and landed on one knee, sliding to a stop before looking up to see Shidou charging at her. Seeing her situation, she fired a volley of missiles.

Shidou extended his hand out and launched a blast of energy, but it only took out a few of the rockets. ' _I won't be able to take them all out quickly enough!_ ' However, the volley was hit with several bolts of purple energy. Stopping himself midair, he turned to see Tohka floating above with her index finger extended. "Tohka…"

Nodding, she urged, "I'll keep her bombs away. Please, Shidou, beat her!"

Shidou nodded before turning his attention back to the well-endowed girl.

Snarling, Houki drew the second energy blade from her waist when she heard a loud explosion nearby.

The trio all turned to see Origami crash through the roof of the adjacent school building.

Ryouko, bruised and with most of her IS trashed, panted heavily as she held her shotgun. "Dammit… you don't know when to quit." Sighing, she dropped her weapon before her generator ran out of power and she dropped to the rooftop as well.

Houki huffed before turning her attention back to Shidou. "Looks like it's just you standing in my way now."

"And I intend to keep standing here, no matter what!" Shidou shouted.

Houki could not see his eyes for the visor on his unit, but she felt a pang of determination from him, causing a smirk to form on her lips. Crouching down with both of her swords, she shot up towards Shidou at intense speed.

Shidou charged at equal speed, their swords clashing.

Houki swung her left-hand sword to the side to strike Shidou, but he blocked it with the armor on his right shoulder, though a significant crack formed in it.

He retaliated with a swing of his own, though Houki kicked his sword aside, spun in the air, and slashed across at him. Shidou dashed backwards, launched a small blast of energy and charged immediately after it.

Houki knocked it out of the air with her offhand blade and thrust with her right.

Shidou narrowly avoided the glowing hot blade, the connector holding the armor on his right shoulder was severed, causing it to drop to the ground below. Spinning with the momentum, he swung his right heel down towards the girl's head, but she knocked it aside with her right blade before catching his leg with her left as well.

He paled as the two blades crossed on his leg, the armor self-ejecting just before she would've chopped his leg off, the force sending Houki flying back. He readied himself again only to hear a loud beeping in his ear. Glancing to the corner of his heavily cracked visor, he managed to make out a single phrase. "Energy low". ' _Dammit… I only need a little longer…_ '

Houki fired rockets from every pod on her unit and charged at the same time, using the cloud of smoke in their wake to hide. ' _Let's see that bitch destroy all of these._ '

Tohka raised both hands and fired shots from both index fingers at the cloud of rockets in desperation.

Shidou attempted to evade them, only to see Houki charge out from the smoke.

She swung her swords down from above, Shidou narrowly dodging them both.

His helmet and visor cracked and split before shattering and falling from his face.

Houki's smirk vanished in an instant before she went pale as a ghost upon seeing Shidou's face, his eyes glaring back at her. She stood in still disbelief as her remaining rockets raced around her and hit Shidou, exploding violently and sending him crashing to the ground in a cloud of smoke.

"Shidou!" Tohka exclaimed desperately as he fell.

Houki just stood in frozen despair. ' _That… it can't be… it… it really is… it_ is _him…! A – And I just… I just… just…_ ' Her thoughts were broken as a powerful explosion hit her from behind and sent her slamming into the school's central clock tower.

Ryouko barely managed to stand and looked where the shot had come from and paled. "What the hell!?"

In the air stood several figures, at the center was a buxom blonde with bright blue eyes, star-shaped symbols in her pupils, clad in a grey, red, and dark blue uniform with numerous large cannons floating around her. "Yahoo! Score one for Iowa!"

Mikie stood shakily from the pile of rubble and stumbled out. "What happ – bah!" she exclaimed as she was hit with a lamp post.

A well-endowed girl with short, wild blue hair, dark red eyes, and a dark blue and white bodysuit, her body clad in hefty armor that was differing shades of blue grinned as she knocked the girl down. "Batter up! Strike for Tatenashi!"

The blonde, Iowa, snickered lightly. "You know, Totem, strikes are a bad thing in baseball."

Tatenashi winced before a single bead of sweat fell down her cheek. "Th – They are?"

"Ain't that right, Kongou-Bongou?"

Next to her, a girl in a brown and white, priestess-style outfit with long, dark brown hair tied in buns with a gold headband atop her head and a row of cannons floating on her back twitched an eyebrow. "How should I know? And it's Kongou, Dess!"

Iowa gave a bright thumbs up. "Sure thing, Kongou-Bongou!"

Kongou sighed heavily. "Oh, dess it… Attack!"

Ryouko stumbled back as she saw her new opponents. "P – Professional Slayers? Why are they here!?"

Tatenashi landed beside her with a hand on her hip. "It's simple really. We heard about your illegal side-jobs and were called in to put a stop to it."

Houki groaned as she climbed out of the rubble that once was the clocktower and saw the group surrounding her and the others, paling in confusion. "Wh – What on earth…? Why are we being attacked by Slayers…?"

Tatenashi turned and saw the girl, her eyes going wide. "Shinonono? Oh dear, this is way bigger than we thought…"

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Houki demanded.

Kongou huffed and retorted, "That's my line, dess! Now you will stop trying to kill them or we wi –!"

"Will Bongo you out of here!" Iowa interrupted with excitement.

Defeated, Kongou added weakly, "…Bongo you out of here. Dess…"

Shidou sat up weakly as the sounds woke him and looked around. "… I am so confused… I was only out for a minute…"

Kongou floated down to him and crouched beside the teen. "You look pretty banged up, dess."

"You think?"

"Alright, alright, no need to get sarcastic, dess," she retorted as she helped him up.

"Thanks…"

Mikie stumbled to her feet, disoriented. "Where am I…?"

Ryouko growled in frustration. "There's no way we can be LG Slayers… Mikie, grab Houki, we're falling back."

Shaking off her disorientation, Mikie saluted and leapt up to Houki.

Iowa pouted as the three took off. "No fun…" She then saw Origami rise out of her crash site and aimed her weapons at her. "You gonna leave or take a cannon shell to the face?"

Seeing this, Shidou rushed over to the blonde. "Wait, don't shoot!"

Iowa pouted again. "Aaww… but I only got to fire one round… besides, she's one of them."

"It's… complicated, but she isn't fighting for them now!"

"Okay, if you say so…"

"Good," he remarked with relief before watching Kongou slap cuffs onto Origami.

Seeing his concern, Kongou explained, "Just precautions while we take her to Headmistress Hida."

"Ah…"

Origami hissed before glaring at Tohka.

Shidou immediately put himself between Origami and Tohka. "No! You can't go back to fighting her after everything I went through to protect her!"

"… Fine. For now… I will eventually kill them all."

"That's not a smart thing to say when you're in handcuffs, dess," Kongou chided.

"Me thinks she isn't known for her intelligence," Iowa taunted.

"I get straight As in all of my classes," Origami argued calmly.

"We should probably take this somewhere else…" Shidou commented as he heard sirens approaching from the distance.

Tatenashi nodded in agreement. "We'll head for Fraxinus. That way you can get healed up and the Headmistress can talk with this one."

"Right…"

* * *

"Shidou!" Twoearl scream as she tackled Shidou while he sat on a bed in Fraxinus' infirmary. "You're okay!"

Reine stared in mild annoyance as she remarked, "I cannot heal him properly if you keep shaking him…"

Twoearl, not listening, urged, "Give me that useless piece of junk IS of yours! I'm going to turn it into something to keep you safe!"

"No," he answered bluntly.

"E – Eh? Why…?"

"Because if I do let you, something tells me it will end up turning me into a woman or a Shota."

"… Would that really be so ba –?"

"YES!"

Twoearl pouted deeply before Reine sighed. "There… most of your injuries have been healed… Your IS will require time to repair…"

At that moment, Kotori walked into the room. "The interrogation is about to start."

* * *

Origami sat at a metal table inside a large room, staring silently.

"Well?" Chifuyu questioned firmly. "Explain yourself."

Origami looked up at the woman and answered bluntly, "I intend to kill them all."

"Not happening. Besides why do you hate them so much?"

"They murdered my family," the white-haired girl answered coldly.

"Oh?" Chifuyu asked, narrowing her eyes in thought.

"Five years ago, one of those monsters murdered my parents and destroyed my home. If they're so willing to take lives, I'll make sure they cease to exist."

Tohka winced slightly at the proclamation.

Chifuyu's interest turned to annoyance. "And you blame all Spirits? How unreasonable."

"How is it any different than killing Savages?"

Tohka pouted at the remark. "I'm not savage…"

Shidou smiled and patted her head gently. "She's talking about something else."

Folding her arms, Chifuyu argued, "The Savages show no signs of intelligence nor willingness to talk, and unlike Spirits they attack first, whereas most Spirits don't attack unless retaliating. Which you and those illegal psychos do. Repeatedly."

"They could wipe humans out entirely.

"So could Slayers. Or anything humans make."

"Nukes don't have a mind of their own," Origami shot back.

"Indeed. Because humans decide when and how they are used. Just like Spirits decide when and how they use their abilities. Mainly in self-defense. I have no doubt there are evil Spirits out there, just like there are evil humans."

Reine stared silently, a small glint in her eyes at the comment.

"So I have only one piece of advice for you," Reiri interjected.

Origami looked up at the woman.

"Try to find the Spirit who hurt you. Try to find out what happened and why. If she is in fact evil, deal with her then."

Shidou raised an eyebrow in confusion. "How do you know it's a woman?"

Reine answered, "Ninety-five percent of the race is female."

"Oh. That's good to know. I guess."

Reiri watched the little exchange for a moment before turning her attention back to the cuffed girl. "Well, Origami?"

"… I can't…" she answered weakly.

"Can't what?"

"I can't forgive them for what they did," she retorted angrily.

Reiri shook her head in retort. "Not they. An individual Spirit did it. Remember that."

Origami just stared at her at a loss.

"Try to focus on finding the Spirit who did it and deal with her then. Don't just kill every Spirit with the idea that the one who wronged you will be in the pile of corpses. After all, that would make Shidou hate you."

That remark got Origami's attention, causing her to freeze up entirely.

"Or do you want him to be disappointed in you entirely?"

Origami flinched before her head dropped completely.

Shidou just stared in total bewilderment.

Reiri nodded in acceptance before sending a cold stare to Origami. "Now, with that said, I have one last order. If I catch wind of you having rejoined those illegal fighters, I will have you arrested for misusing IS technology, and make sure you never see or hear from my little brother ever again."

Origami winced in response, remaining silent as she tightened her fists. "… I… understand."

"Good."

"Isn't that –?" Shidou began to ask, Reiri cutting him off.

"The only way she won't do it again is if doing so will destroy her world. Understood?"

Shidou just looked at her in silent confusion before nodding.

Near the group, Iowa stood quietly as she ate a very large burger. "Sho wat are ve here?" she asked with a mouth full of food.

Bismarck smacked her on the back of the back of the head. "Svallow first."

Gulping down what was left of her meal, Iowa repeated, "So why are we here?"

Looking at the blonde in thought, Reiri questioned, "Didn't Chifuyu tell you?"

Iowa shook her head in return. "Nope. Just that Kongou-Bongou and I need to come here. Oh, and to bring Totem with us."

Reiri pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation. Kongou, seeming to have not learned her lesson, retorted, "It's Kongou, dess…"

Iowa just gave her a comical thumbs up. "'Kay, Kongou-Bongou!"

Kongou twitched an eyebrow as she grabbed a dagger on her waist.

"Kongou," Reiri chided.

Kongou just looked at her with a pout. "… I'll make it quick?"

"You won't do it at all."

Sighing in defeat, she tucked the weapon away.

Iowa looked at the bun-haired girl in thought. "Hm? You okay Kongou-Bongou?"

"That's enough," Chifuyu grumbled.

Iowa just turned to the woman in confusion. "Of what, Chi-Chi?"

As the group spoke, Tatenashi, now in a more casual attire, walked up to Chifuyu and tapped her on the shoulder. "Do you have a moment to talk with me?"

Raising an intrigued eyebrow, Chifuyu nodded. "Yes, what is it?"

Tatenashi motioned her to follow and walked away from the others, Chifuyu following.

"Alright, how about you answer now?"

Tatenashi nodded and began her explanation. "I didn't include this in my report, but there were four Slayers at that battle."

"No, you did include that, I'm aware there were four of them.

"What I didn't include was the identity of the fourth."

Chifuyu raised an eyebrow as she took a sip of her coffee.

"Houki Shinonono."

The suit-clad woman spat her coffee out and coughed for several moments before looking at Tatenashi in disbelief. "Wh – What?!"

"The fourth Slayer was Houki Shinonono, younger sister of the Infinite Stratos' inventor Tabane Shinonono."

"… Just great…" she groaned out as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Just how did she get wrapped up in this mess…?"

Tatenashi responded with a shrug. "If it's any consolation, when I stated that what they were doing was illegal, she seemed genuinely confused."

"Right… we need to get to her and set her straight before she does more than a little property damage."

The blue-haired girl nodded in agreement.

"Twoearl!" Chifuyu called out, the silver-haired woman appearing next to her almost instantly.

"You called?" she asked with curious excitement.

"We have a problem concerning your little sister."

Twoearl tilted her head in slight confusion. "My little sist – oh, Houki! What's the problem?"

"Apparently she's fallen in with the AST. We don't know what her reasons are, but she's working with them."

"… Well crap…"

"Any ideas?" Tatenashi prodded.

Twoearl pulled out a large rifle and a pith helmet and slapped it on her head. "Hunt her down and bring her here."

Tatenashi just stared in bewilderment. "… Y – You're not planning on killing her, I hope…"

Twoearl just tilted her head in confusion, to which Tatenashi pointed at the rifle in her grasp. "Huh? This?" she retorted, pulling the trigger, inadvertently hitting Chifuyu with a dart. "It's just a tranquilizer gun."

"Ah…" Tatenashi then glanced to the side and saw Chifuyu passed out on the floor. "M – Miss Chifuyu!?"

"Oh… oops."

* * *

Back on the bridge, Shidou noticed Tohka looking around with an expression comprised of both curiosity and concern. "Something wrong Tohka?"

"This place is… creepy," the purple-haired girl answered, somewhat restrained.

Shrugging, Kotori interjected, "It's a ship. It's not made to be homey."

"It also reflects its captain," Reiri remarked.

Shidou looked around in thought. "Huh… you have a point…"

"Sh – Shut up!" Kotori sputtered, her face turning as red as her hair.

As the two shot retorts back and forth, Tohka tried to discreetly slip out of the area, only to bump into Reine.

"Are you okay?"

"… Y – Yes. Just leaving…" she stammered somewhat, trying to make a quick getaway.

Reine put a hand on her shoulder. "Stay for a while young lady."

Tohka frowned and rebutted bluntly, "I don't like it here."

Reine frowned in disappointment somewhat at that.

Kotori was pulled from her argument with Shidou when one of the bridge crew got her attention and pointed to a screen, showing Tohka's mental state was becoming unstable.

Reine decided to redirect the situation and turned her attention, somewhat, to Shidou. "Shin, let's go take Tohka to get something to eat."

Tohka's bow perked up and pointed almost into the sky. "Food?!"

Reine smiled sleepily and nodded.

Tohka then blinked in consideration and looked at Shidou. "Hey, Shidou, before all… that, you said something about a date. What's that?"

Shidou imitated a fish as he tried to find the proper words, only for Reine to jump in. "An activity you do with someone you care about or want to get closer to."

Tohka stood silently for a moment while thinking. "Oh. Okay."

The teen sighed in relief. "Ready to go, Tohka?"

"Sure!" the girl replied with excitement, only for Reiri to grab her by the shoulder.

"Not quite yet. We can't have her running around in her Astral Dress. You'll need to put on something that helps you blend in with humans."

"B – But…" the girl argued, only for Reiri to drag her away.

"Don't worry, it won't be anything bad."

* * *

Shidou waited near his house shortly after, before hearing Tohka's voice call out softly. Turning, he saw her approaching, wearing the female uniform of his school. ' _She… she looks like a regular girl…_ ' he thought, his cheeks turning red.

Tohka saw his lost expression and frowned somewhat. "What's wrong? Does it look weird…?"

Shidou shook his head vigorously. "N – No, quite the opposite! It looks great on you."

"O – Oh…" she said weakly, her own cheeks filling with heat. "Th – Thanks…"

The two stood in silence for several moments before Shidou gulped down his nervousness and took the lead. "Wh – Why don't we get going?"

"R – Right," she returned before following him.

* * *

The couple eventually entered the outskirts of the city's shopping district, where Tohka was instantly smitten by the smell coming from a bakery near the front gate. Looking inside with excitement, she asked hurriedly, "Shidou, is this a date? Or is it this? Or this?!"

Shidou just laughed weakly in mild amusement. "Didn't we already tell you?"

She stared at him with a mildly annoyed pout.

Deciding it best not to annoy her further, he simply answered her question. "No. It's all different types of pastries and bread. Do you want me to get you any?"

She nodded so fast, Shidou could swear her heard her brain rattling around.

He merely chuckled happily as he walked in. "Wait here and I'll get you some."

Nearby, Reine watched the two from behind a tree with a minute smile on her lips.

Tohka's bow wiggled up and down with excitement as Shidou came back out with a large bag filled with various breads and confectionaries. "I don't know what you like so I went ahead and bought a few different pastries and some Kinako Bread."

She instantly took the bag from him, sniffed it intently before pulling out a long piece of Kinako Bread. Examining it for a moment, she looked at Shidou with slight apprehension. "It's not poisoned is it?"

Shidou winced before smiling weakly. "I have no reason to do that. Trust me, it's fine."

She stared at it silently for a moment, seeming to weigh her options before taking a large bite of the loaf. After just that single bite, her eyes shot wide, filled with stars, her bow stood almost straight up on end, and she released a squeal of delight before beginning to joyously devour the remainder of the loaf in record time.

Shidou put a hand on his chest as he watched her. ' _… She's… so cute…_ '

Tohka then pulled a blueberry danish out of the bag and vigorously ate it as well, before perking up and sniffing the air before finding the source, a vendor nearby selling grilled hotdogs.

Shidou followed the energetic girl over to the stand before buying her a few, handing her only one. "Here. Though eating hot dogs on top of sweets might not be the best idea."

She looked at him in thought as she took it.

"Hot dogs can be a bit greasy and not mix well with sugary foods."

The girl merely hummed in thought before eating the entire frank in one bite. "So good!" Her elation was cut short as they continued walking when she took stock of the large crowd of people around her. "Wh – What is this? Where did all these humans come from?!" A small ball of purple energy appeared on her fingertip as she tensed. "Is this a Mecha-Mecha Squad ambush?!"

Shidou stood in front of her with his arms out. "No, no, stop! It's not a surprise attack! This is a shopping center, lots of people come here to look at things, buy food, and just have fun. They're not here to attack you…"

Tohka narrowed her eyes suspiciously but dispelled the ball of energy before something caught her attention. She watched as a little boy dumped a piece of litter into a large refuse bin before his mother patted his head as they walked off. Tohka stared momentarily before eating the remaining three hotdogs in one go, running over, and dumping the wooden sticks they were on into a bin.

Shidou watched her, slightly perplexed, but put the pieces together when she rushed back to him and leaned her head down. Getting the hint, he smiled before gently rubbing her head as a reward. "Good girl."

Tohka merely giggled happily. She looked up when something else nearby caught her nose and ran off. "Shidou, what's that?!"

Shidou reached out to stop her, awed by the girl's endless appetite. "You want to eat more?! Take your time or you'll get sick!"

"Wait, is that Hida?" a familiar voice asked.

Turning in mild annoyance, Shidou saw Ai, Mai, and Mii walking out of a convenience store, the head of the group looking at him with a sideways glance.

"Why's he goofing around with some girl?" Mai questioned.

"That's so lame…" Mii grumbled as she stood beside her friends.

Twitching an eyebrow, Shidou shot back, "And just how am I lame?"

"He heard us?!" Ai exclaimed in shock.

"That's so lame…!" Mii repeated, seemingly with worry in her voice.

Pointing at them with exasperation, Shidou chided, "You're not exactly being quiet… And how am I being lame when you three are stalking me…?"

"Hey, don't make fun of Mii!" Mai demanded, confusing the teen even further.

"H – Huh? I'm not… I am just asking a question…"

Ai frowned somewhat as she turned to her friends. "Come on, let's go girls."

The trio swiftly took off away from the bewildered Shidou. "What… the hell just happened…? That was weird…"

"Shidoouu!" Tohka called out, reminding him of why he was even there in the first place.

"C – Coming!" he shouted as he raced over to her.

* * *

"So gooood!" Tohka squealed as she bit into a dumpling.

"Are you full yet…?" Shidou asked, weeping over his severely emaciated wallet.

"You know, the food you humans make is really good," Tohka remarked, ignoring Shidou's question entirely.

"Yeah, I guess so…"

"I don't get anything like this over there. Aunt Mi-Mi rarely cooks after all…" she lamented.

Shidou furrowed his brow in thought but then decided to take the opportunity she inadvertently opened. "… Hey, Tohka. Can I ask you something?"

"Lie waf?" she responded, her mouth practically stuffed with dumpling.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Shidou chastised.

Chewing vigorously, Tohka swallowed as soon as she could before reiterating, "Like what?"

"Where are you from?"

"The Spirit Realm," she answered in a matter-of-fact tone as she picked up another dumpling.

Shidou was not satisfied with that simple answer. "Right… what's it like?"

Tohka put a finger on her chin, thinking as she chewed. "Hm… it's nice."

"Is it? Then how come you keep coming here?"

Tohka shook her head in reply. "I don't. It's more like… I'm forced here. Pulled here by something. I think…" she answered, though not seeming to understand the situation fully herself. "I'm doing whatever, and then next thing I know, I'm here."

"I see…" Shidou answered thoughtfully. ' _Forced? But then… that means the Spacequakes aren't actually the Spirits' doing… just unintentional accidents…_ '

Tohka finished the dumplings and tossed the box into a bin before looking to the sky in thought. "I wonder if Aunt Mi-Mi or Muz will come here…"

Shidou blinked a few times as he listened. "Aunt Mi-Mi?"

Again, Tohka seemed to not hear or outright ignore his words as she raced off after the scent coming from an upscale restaurant. "Oohh! That smells so good!"

" _More_!?" Shidou wailed before chasing after her.

* * *

Walking in, Shidou was hit with an unexpected sight with Reine dressed in a formal waitress uniform at the front door holding a menu.

"Welcome…" she greeted in her usual sleepless tone.

' _Eh?!_ ' he screamed in his head.

Tohka just tilted her head cutely as she took note of his confusion.

"R – R – Rein –?" he stammered before she, with a motion faster than expected from her expression, interrupted him with a light smack by the menu in her hand.

"Shush," she retorted before leading Shidou and Tohka to a booth.

Tohka, oblivious as always, looked around at the various foods other patrons had. "Ooh, milkshakes!"

Shidou felt a nerve popping in his forehead as he realized that everyone in the restaurant, staff and patrons alike, were in fact from Ratatoskr.

"Shidou, Shidou! Let's sit here!" Tohka urged as she picked a specific table, rather than Reine leading them to one.

"Sure, sure…" he replied as he sat down with a sigh, Tohka humming as she perused the menu.

"M – May I take your order?" a somewhat shaky, but familiar voice asked.

Shidou looked up from where he sat and saw something that nearly caused his nose to explode, Chifuyu standing next to his and Tohka's table, clad in a low-cut, blue and white maid uniform with thigh-high stockings, a slight but very noticeable red tint to her cheeks.

"S – Si –?!" he began, only for the platter she held to collide with his face, silencing him.

Tohka, oblivious to this exchange, just began rattling off what she wanted. "I'll have the extra-large triple chocolate milkshake with strawberries and poranges, Kinako Bread and extra-large strawberry cheesecake with syrup."

Chifuyu's embarrassment began to mix with annoyance as she cut Tohka off from adding anything else with a suggestion. "How about just our Overkill Dish?"

Tohka looked up at her, curious. "What's that?"

"It's everything."

Tohka's eyes lit up with excitement. "Okay, I'll take it!"

Shidou stared in disbelief. "I – I'll be right back…" he stuttered as he stood up.

"Okay…?" she wondered as he left, Chifuyu quickly following him.

* * *

"Chifuyu, what are you doing?" Shidou asked in flabbergasted bewilderment.

"This certainly wasn't my idea!" she protested, the color to her face spreading.

"Well then whose was it?"

"This whole mess was Kotori's. This… this stupid outfit was Reiri's…" she grumbled, tugging at the outfit's skirt.

Shidou gulped deeply as he looked at Chifuyu in the uniform. "… Of course… she'd be the only one to make you be sexy in front of me…"

Chifuyu was almost taken aback by his comment.

Seeing her response, he questioned her what was wrong, which she swiftly deflected.

"N – Nothing. Just… get ready and head south from here."

Shidou raised an eyebrow, perplexed. "… Okay…? But it's just houses down there."

"Just go," she urged as she walked away.

"Right…"

* * *

Shidou watched Tohka down a large sundae packed with fruit and garnishes that was bigger than her entire head, two massive steaks, and three various fruit pies before they finally left the restaurant.

Looking at the surprisingly petite girl, who just hummed happily as they walked, one thought raced through his head constantly. Where does she put it all?!

Eventually they reached the area Chifuyu had directed them to, an area that was, normally just a thin roadway lined with houses on either side. But instead it was bookended by two large archways, and filled end to end with nothing but an overly wide variety of food stalls. ' _… When the hell did this get here?!_ '

"Ooh… this all smells so good!" Tohka squealed as she looked at the meters and meters of nothing but food stalls.

' _What on Earth is going on here…?_ '

* * *

 **And thus ends the fifth chapter of Armored Spirits. Hopefully everyone enjoyed it. Be sure to let me know what you thought in a review. If you were confused, unsure, or simply have questions about anything, leave a review with your queries and I will do my best to address them in the next reviewer response. If you did not enjoy it, leave your grievances, but try to have a point, and please have a proper grasp of English, I don't understand Spanish or Portuguese. Anyway! Enough waffling, until next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter VI**

 **Greetings and salutations everyone! Hopefully everyone enjoyed the previous chapter. I also hope you enjoy this one, so be sure to let me know with a review if you did. Got some reviewer responses to do, so no more prattling, on with the show!**

 **BloodWolf752: I'm glad to be back. She's a precious cinnamon roll.**

 **Blade1986: Lots of crazy, that much can be predicted.**

 **freeforall546: Kongou-Bongou!**

 **Messiah of authors: Yup, that about sums it up.**

 **Correnhimself316: His wallet certainly became much lighter after this experience.**

 **Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov: I see, well I don't care enough about having other male characters to put in the effort. If a story comes preloaded with the main character having male friends, I do what I can to replace them with female ones.**

 **Better than the OC snatching? I think I still don't get what you mean, but alright. Do you mean the main dude gets OC girls, or an OC main guy gets all the girls?**

 **Well Reine is Reine, so there's that.**

 **He's definitely got some problems going on.**

 **Yup, IS is a thing here. Ha, my computer treats that as a repeated word.**

 **Sorry it took so long, I'll do what I can to make uploads more frequent.**

 **Skull Flame: Well that's what the others hope to find out as well.**

 **It's more of a meme based thing than anything else. I don't play KanColle and have little interest to change that, but it's a common meme that A) Iowa sucks at remembering names and so uses comical nicknames and**

 **B) Is obsessed with food.**

 **Lots of jabs.**

 **KAEL Excalibur: I don't personally despise Ichika, but I do think there's a lot that could've been done better with him. He doesn't need to be a squeamish eunuch to not go around fucking every girl he sees. Arata Kasuga is an open and outspoken pervert and manages to have some form of moral standards and self-control. So it's certainly possible. It's just a lot of harem authors seem to think making the main guy as dumb as a bag of hammers is the only way to ensure he isn't going around plowing every girl around him.**

 **Fortitude501: I am well aware. Life's a bitch sometimes.**

 **It's good to be back. I can't guarantee it'll be on a regular basis, but I can promise I'll do what I can to make sure I'm not gone for the same amount of time as the average pregnancy.**

 **Cinnamon bun she be.**

 **I think "bad start" is the lightest way to put it. I think her first in-story meeting with Shidou has the same unbridled appeal of a school shooting. Which now that I think about it is a rather apropos comparison.**

 **Competitions are certainly inbound. And I can promise they aren't all PG.**

 **It's about as empty as the average journalist's moral compass.**

 **Doozy is right. Hopefully this one's just as exciting.**

 **And that does it for the reviewer responses. I have nothing else to add, so I will not waffle on and instead get on to the main event!**

* * *

"Ooh… this all smells so good!" Tohka squealed as she looked at the meters and meters of nothing but food stalls.

' _What on Earth is going on here…?_ '

Tohka immediately took off with excitement, Shidou barely managing to keep up. "H – Hey!"

The two were stopped when a large ball dropped from overhead and sprayed the area with confetti before Bismarck, in a horrible disguise of a poor-fitting kimono and a fluffy mustache, jumped out with several other people. "Congratulations! You both are our one hundred thousandth customer of the day! Your grand prize is everything you see is all-you-can-eat!"

Iowa, also in a similar disguise with a pair of comical glasses, pout as she sat, bound to a chair.

"Really!?" Tohka asked with awe, drooling.

"Indeed!" Kongou cheered, her only form of disguise being a porcelain mask over her face.

Shidou stared at the group in disbelief. ' _Tohka won't actually fall for all this… Will she…?_ ' He turned to see Tohka looking around the stalls with hunger all over her face, not noticing the poorly disguised people. Or simply not caring. Shidou merely slapped a hand over his face, deciding to stop fighting the crazy.

"Shidou, Shidou, can I really eat whatever I want?!" Tohka asked with anticipation.

"If they say so…" he answered with a very tired smile.

Tohka ran up to the closest stall, Kongou's, where the masked girl spooned out a bowl of… something.

Staring at it, Shidou could almost swear it was pixelated to the naked eye. That or it was simply so disturbing his mind was blocking it out. ' _… Is… is that even edible…?_ '

"Tahdah!" Kongou cheered as she reached the bowl out to the seemingly unfazed Tohka.

Before Tohka could eat the otherworldly concoction, Bismarck stepped between them and looked at Kongou. "Ms. Kel. Vhy don't you try zit first. I'll get her some apple strudel."

Kongou raised an eyebrow under her mask but shrugged all the same. She took a bite as they left, her face turning purple before she collapsed to the ground in spasms.

"K – Kongou-Bongou!?" Iowa shouted in horror as she tried to break her ropes.

As they walked away, Shidou stared back in mild disgust before looking at Bismarck. "… Is she going to be okay?"

Bismarck merely nodded. "Yes. Happens vhen her sister helps her cook."

"Right…" he then turned his attention to Tohka, who was busily downing a copious amount of apple strudel.

"So gooood…" the purple-haired girl cooed. "I should try and tell Aunt Mi-Mi about this place…"

Bismarck raised an eyebrow at that. "Mi-Mi?"

Tohka just nodded as she ate. "Yep! The Lord of Spirits and best one!"

Shidou felt something click in his mind, but before he could pursue it. Tohka found a fruit stand and showed one to him.

"Oooohh… Shidou, Shidou, is this that date thing you were talking about?!"

Shidou felt the irony hit as he looked at the fruit in her hand. A date. "Erm… kind of. It is a date… but not the kind I was talking about…"

Tohka merely examined it curiously before taking a bite. "Oooooh. It's tasty."

"Right…" he muttered as he followed her, Tohka finding more foods and other objects that caught her attention.

As she ate a string of dumplings, she happened to notice the expression of fatigue on Shidou's face and frowned in concern. "Shidou… are you not having fun?"

He twitched slightly as his attention returned fully to her, though he still had not heard her. "H – Huh?"

Her frown growing, she added, "It's been a blast for me so far, but… you don't seem to be enjoying yourself…"

Shidou just gave her a reassuring smile. "As long as you're having fun, I'm happy."

"Really…?" she asked, suspicious.

"Really."

"Really, really?"

"Really, really," he affirmed. "I'll go anywhere with you as long as you're having fun."

She immediately grabbed his arm with a bright smile, unwittingly jamming it between her marshmallows. "Then, let's go have even more fun together!"

"Right," he stuttered as she dragged him to another stall, trying to ignore the softness on his arm.

* * *

As the Ratatoskr crew finished cleaning up the mess Tohka left, Chifuyu bowed to the owner, Hinako. "Thank you for letting us borrow your establishment."

Hinako merely nodded with a smile. ' _I guess she doesn't remember me… that's probably for the best._ '

Chifuyu began to walk out when she heard her phone ring, picking it up, she spoke with the other person for a moment before her went as wide as saucers. "What?! How?! … Dammit!" she cursed as she jammed the phone back into her pocket and took off running.

Hinako just stared in confusion.

* * *

Shidou and Tohka stopped as they saw Twoearl at a stall, whose 'disguise' amounted to little more than balling up her hair. Though it still slipped past Tohka.

"Come on, come on! Try your luck!" the white-haired woman beckoned, Tohka running over with interest. "Just spin this drum and wait for a prize ball to drop out to see what you've won!"

Tohka looked at Shidou, who just nodded with a smile. Grabbing the drum's handle, she began spinning it at nearly ludicrous speed.

Twoearl watched with slight concern.

"Aaaand, there!" Tohka shouted before stopping the drum suddenly, tearing the handle off and causing a small, bright yellow ball to drop out of a small hole on the side.

Twoearl stared in disbelief before seeming to come to her senses as she blew a loud airhorn. "Coonngratulations! You won two deluxe tickets to Dream Park!"

Shidou twitched an eyebrow as he listened to her. "Dream Park…? Why do I get a bad feeling about this…?"

"This way, this way," she urged as she pulled both Shidou and Tohka around the corner of a large hedge.

Shidou's eyebrow gained a partner as he realized why he was worried, staring down the front sign to a large love hotel. "No," he barked bluntly.

Tohka looked over the flashing lights and bright colors with excitement. "Hey, Shidou, what is this place?"

"Somewhere people on a first date should never go," he stated as he tried to pull her in the opposite direction of the lascivious building.

"Aw, but it looks interesting!"

"Trust me, it's not," he grunted.

"Oh come on, you said you'd go anywhere with me!"

"Anywhere still has limits! Besides, there's not any food in there anyway."

Tohka immediately stopped fighting and started walking away on her own. "Next," she requested firmly.

Shidou stared in disbelief before sighing in relief as he followed her.

Twoearl, however, pouted with heavy disappointment.

* * *

Near the commotion, Origami stood in the shadows of an alley, with a small datapad in her grip. "Origami reporting in, Target Princess located. Requesting emergency combat equipment."

On the other end, Ryouko, replied. "Request acknowledged. Sending the equipment. You're not going to turn traitor on us again, are you?"

"Negative. I'm going to do this myself and ensure Shidou isn't endangered."

"Good. It should be there now."

Nodding, Origami slammed her hand into the mouth of a decorative lion, with an AST IS popping out and equipping to her.

* * *

"How'd she get away?!" Chifuyu shouted as she slammed her hand on the desk in front of her.

Reiri sighed with guilt. "I foolishly left the bridge crew to watch her, thinking they were competent enough to keep an eye on her. They were so focused on their AI nonsense to try and predict what Tohka would want they completely forgot about Tobiichi."

Chifuyu rubbed her temple in frustration. "Ugh… Typically Kotori workers…"

Twoearl twirled some of her hair around her finger with a pout as they spoke. "I was sure they'd go in the love hotel…" Changing gears, she perked up and looked at Chifuyu. "Oh well… Hey Chi-Chan, wanna go to a Love Motel with Shidou?!"

Chifuyu responded by slamming her fist into the woman's face and embedding her in a wall. "Zip it."

Reiri sighed before glancing at a nearby monitor as something caught her eye. "Hm? Look. It's beginning to rain."

Bismarck raised an eyebrow curiously. "Zhat's odd. Zhere vas no forecast of rain."

Pulling herself from the wall, Twoearl frowned in suspicion. "I… have a bad feeling…"

* * *

Shidou ran next to Tohka, holding up his blazer to try and keep her dry, looking for somewhere to duck away from the rain. "Come on, let's get out of the rain!"

"O – Okay!" she stammered in mild confusion before he led her into an arcade. As Shidou tried to dry off his jacket, Tohka looked around the area and gasped at all of the various machines around her. "Sh – Shidou! What is this?! The Mecha-Mecha Squad's HQ?!"

"Huh?" he mumbled as he turned her attention to her before taking in her words. "No. It's a video game arcade."

Tohka looked at him, completely bewildered. "Video game arcade?"

"It's a form of entertainment for humans," he explained as he looked around the building. "Hehe, this is actually kinda nostalgic."

"Oooooh," she hummed in recognition. "You mean like books or movies?"

Raising an eyebrow at the somewhat dated comparisons, he nodded in return. "Something like that."

As they continued through the building, Tohka stopped suddenly when she saw a large claw game cabinet packed with oversized Kinako bread plushies. "… Want…"

"Did you say something?" Shidou questioned, turning back to her.

Pointing to the large, unusual plush bred, Tohka exclaimed, eyes sparkling, "Shidou, I want that!"

Shidou looked at it, bewildered. Shrugging, he handed her a five-yen coin. "Okay. Here, this coin should be enough to play. But these things are set up so that it's almost impossible to win."

Tohka just ignored his warning and began maneuvering the two-clawed hand over the one she wanted most, dropped it, and then watched as the claw picked it up. Only to immediately drop it. Grumbling, she took another shot, with the same outcome. "Oh… come on! You weakling! Shidou, do something about this!"

Putting a hand on her shoulder, Shidou reiterated, "Like I said, odds are you won't get one. If you don't play strategically you won't get one."

"Then what should I do…?" she pouted.

Shidou looked around the area to see if there was a cabinet that was easier to win, seeing a cabinet filled with large plush toys of a cartoon cat. Pointing to it, he noted, "You could probably get that one easier."

Tohka puffed her cheeks obstinately. "I don't want that one… I want this…"

"Right…" he sighed in defeat before looking around, hoping for alternatives. "There has to be something similar… But…" his face went pale when he saw that one of the cabinets had Iowa dressed up as a giant claw inside. ' _… The hell…?_ ' Turning back to the cabinet Tohka stood in front of, he put a hand on his chin. "Okay, Tohka, I may have an idea."

"R – Really?" she asked, hopeful.

"We'll try one more time. I'll press this button; you press that one. When I tell you to, let go of it."

"O – Okay…"

Dropping a coin in, Shidou pressed the side-to-side button, Tohka placing her finger above the back-and-forth button in preparation. He watched carefully as the mechanical arm moved. "… Now!"

He immediately let go and Tohka depressed the switch in front of her firmly.

He trained his eyes carefully on the gears as the arm moved back. "There!"

Tohka instantly let go of the button, the claw descending and grabbing the large plush, picking it up directly in the middle and pulling it forward. Her eyes lit up before going dark again as the claw dropped it, the pillow simply flopping onto the edge of the gift box. Staying there.

Shidou saw Tohka on the verge of tears and slammed the side of his foot into the machine, shaking it just enough for the pillow to drop into the basket.

"Yes!" Tohka cheered as she pulled it out.

Shidou smiled and patted her on the head. However, as he did, something caught his attention. Looking past Tohka, he saw a figure standing outside the arcade.

"Huh, Shidou?" she questioned as he walked towards the exit.

Getting closer, Shidou saw it was a young girl with long, wavy, bright blue hair, matching blue eyes, and fair skin, wearing a green and white, hooded cloak with large rabbit ears on top, the outfit covered in pink accents. Kneeling down slightly, he addressed the girl directly. "Huh? Hey, do you want to come inside and play?"

The girl took notice of him and winced, slinking away from him with a small whimper of fear.

The teen frowned in concern. "You okay?"

Her lips quivered as she seemed to try and speak, only for her left hand to pop up, a white and green rabbit puppet on her hand, which spoke to him instead. **"Yoshino doesn't talk to strangers."**

Shidou raised an eyebrow but decided making a matter out of it would do no good. "Well, do you?"

The girl looked up over the puppet in surprise, with the puppet then adding, **"Only to tell them Yoshino won't talk to them."**

"Yoshino, is it? So what's your name then?"

 **"I'm the great Yoshinon!"**

Smiling, Shidou continued, "Well, Yoshinon, can you ask Yoshino if she wants to come in and play? She looks rather sad out here all by herself."

Yoshino and Yoshinon stared at each other for a moment, both seeming surprised.

* * *

On Fraxinus, Kotori sat in the captain's seat, sipping from a carton of chocolate milk.

One of the crew suddenly shouted, "Captain, we're detecting a second Spirit near Shidou's location!"

Kotori reflexively spat out of her drink, choking on it momentarily. "Wh – What?!" she exclaimed as Reine wiped the panel in front of her.

"Checking ID!" another crewman stated before turning to her. "It's Hermit!"

Kotori growled as she pulled out her phone to call Shidou. "Well that explains the rain at least." She twitched an eyebrow as all she got was his mailbox. "Dammit Shidou…"

"Something wrong?" Chifuyu questioned as she sat in one of the crew chairs flanking Kotori.

"He won't answer his phone," she snarled as she called again, only to again get his message box.

"And how is that a problem?"

"We need to let him know about Hermit's approach along with Origami going rogue."

Twoearl, sucking on a lollipop, looked at Kotori curiously. "Is Hermit dangerous?"

"If she's provoked, she could transform the entire city into an icy graveyard."

Twoearl nodded before going back to her candy. "Ah. Then things are fine with Shidou."

Kotori stared at her incredulously.

* * *

"Shidou?" Tohka questioned as she saw him standing with Yoshino.

"Huh? What's up Tohka?"

"Who's she?"

"Yoshino. I thought she looked lonely."

Tohka puffed her cheeks in a pout, quietly protesting, "I thought your date was with me."

Shidou smiled as he pet her on the head gently. "It is. But I just thought she looked like she needed a friend or two."

Tohka frowned and stared silently at the blue-haired girl, who proceeded to nervously fidget with her free hand.

 **"Hey stop scaring Yoshino!"** Yoshinon shouted as it popped up and confronted Tohka.

"The puppet talked!?" Tohka shouted in disbelief as she stumbled back.

Yoshinon huffed before retorting, **"I'm not a puppet! I'm Yoshinon!"**

"O – Oh…" she stammered, too bewildered to argue.

"Well?" Shidou urged.

Tohka pouted before biting into her new pillow. "Fine…"

Yoshino hid behind Shidou somewhat before he turned to the worried girl. "So you three, wanna play some games?"

Tohka and Yoshino both nodded fervently.

"Then let's start playing."

A smile slowly formed on the small girl's lips.

* * *

Kotori dug her heel into the floor of her seat as she watched the events unfolding on the monitor. "This is just great… All we need to make things worse is for Nightmare to show up…"

"Think he can do it?" Reiri asked, her question directed at Reine. "Tame two spirits at once?"

"I have no doubt," the ever-sleepy woman answered.

"Even with the psycho loose?" Chifuyu argued, to which Reine merely nodded.

"I have faith he will find a solution." ' _And you should have faith in your brother too, Nayu…_ '

* * *

"Having fun Yoshino? Yoshinon?" Shidou asked as Yoshino tossed a ball into a small basket.

Seeming to have only just remembered he was here, she turned slowly and nodded to him.

Yoshinon added, **"Despite the dummy I'm stuck with, I'm having great fun!"**

"Y – Yoshinon…" the girl objected quietly.

Shidou smiled and waved a hand in response. "It's okay, I've been called worse."

Yoshinon tilted its head before looking at him. **"I wasn't talking about you."**

Tohka stared in disbelief whilst Shidou narrowed his eyes, realizing the meaning behind the puppet's words. "… Yoshinon, that's not nice. You shouldn't insult Yoshino."

Tohka lurched back, even more confused.

Yoshinon's head tilted even further. **"Why not? She's useless."**

With a light, almost playful, smack to the puppet's head, he protested, "No she isn't. She is a nice sweet girl and doesn't deserve to be treated the way you are treating her."

Yoshino's eyes widened somewhat before she instantly huddled down, pulling on the rabbit ears of her coat as a loud siren blared.

' _That… that's the Spacequake alarm!_ '

* * *

Outside the arcade, as people fled the building in a crowd, Origami stood, holding a lever down on the wall. "I can't keep waiting for them to leave a populated area. I'm clearing the area with an alarm. I assume the AST will cover costs?"

"As usual," Ryouko grumbled over the radio.

"Good," Origami answered curtly before flying off towards a small hill in the woods on the edge of the city. "I can get a clear shot from here."

* * *

Shidou frowned suspiciously as he waited for the tremors. "… Something's not right… Tohka, stay here and watch Yoshino."

"H – Huh? O – Okay…" she stammered, standing next to the frightened girl.

Shidou ran out of the arcade and saw that not only were there no people around rather suddenly, there was no signs of a Spacequake anywhere. "This… is not good… Tohka, Yoshino! We need to get out of here!"

"Huh?" Tohka wondered as she brought Yoshino out of the arcade by the hand.

"Something's not right…" he muttered before he noticed a bright red dot centering itself on Tohka's chest. Reacting on instant impulse, he pushed Tohka to the side, knocking both her and Yoshino to the ground, before feeling a powerful jolt.

Yoshino shrieked as they fell, Yoshinon looking up and shouting. **"Hey! What's the big idea!?"**

Tohka stood up slowly, her face pale in disbelief. "Sh – Shidou…?"

Shidou stumbled back slightly before seeing Tohka's Kinako Bread pillow lying on the ground with a giant hole in it. "S – Sorry about that… W – We will… Get you a new one…"

"Sh – Shidou…" Tohka voiced weakly as she turned pale.

"Wh – What…?" he wondered before looking down and noticing the immense, bloody wound through his midsection. "When did… that get there…?" After a moment more of shakily standing, his body finally gave out and he collapsed to the ground.

"… SHIDOU!"

* * *

On the hill from her perch, Origami stood motionless, her only movement being twitches of horrified disbelief. "N – No… Nononononono!"

"Origami? What's happening?" Ryouko demanded over the radio, only hearing Origami's screaming.

"Nononono!"

"Status report, Origami! Origami?! Origami!"

"SHIDOOUU!"

"What? Who? That boy? Origami, answer me!"

"I killed him! Nonononono this wasn't supposed to happen…!"

"Origami! Get a grip! Origami! Dammit!"

* * *

On the Fraxinus, the bridge was as quiet as a graveyard.

"… Wh – What…?" Kongou stuttered in shock, Iowa standing next to her frozen, while Chifuyu seemed incapable of processing everything she saw, collapsing onto a chair.

Kotori, Reine, and Reiri, however, showed no signs any distress.

Kotori watched as Yoshino ran up to Shidou and began deploying ice onto his wound to try and help him, only for it to immediately melt and shatter. "So that's Hermit, and she's icing the wound. Wait, what?!"

"Try to keep up," Reiri chided.

* * *

"Come on… come on…!" Yoshino begged as she continually formed more ice from her hands, only for it to instantly vanish.

Tohka kept staring, her brain not capable, or not willing, to register what she was seeing. "Sh – Shidou…? Shidou… Shidou! SHIDOU!" she screamed as it finally came to her, causing her knees to give out under her. "Shidou…" Looking around fervently with desperation in her eyes, she saw, on the hill just outside the city, Origami, standing still, in her armor. "… It's the Mecha-Mecha Squad…" Looking between Origami and Shidou, she finally pieced everything together. "Wait… that means…" Her eyes went wide with horror. "… She was aiming for me… and hit Shidou instead… It's… It's…"

* * *

The bridge crew all stumbled back from their computers as the sensors showing Tohka's emotional state fluctuated violently.

* * *

"It's… my fault…" As she looked away from Origami, she saw the crater in the center of town where she had first met Shidou, as well as the crater left over at the school, realizing they were caused by her arrivals. "Every time I appear in this world… I destroy such beautiful things…" Moving to her feet, she momentarily looked at her hands before turning to Shidou. "Maybe… maybe that's why the Mecha-Mecha Squad are trying to kill me… But… But…" Tohka stood completely still and silent before her hands clenched into fists so tight it seemed she would start bleeding, and then wiped the tears from her eyes as she turned her sadness into rage and aimed it directly at the shell-shocked Origami. "I'll go back home, and I won't ever come back to this world."

Yoshino diverted her attention from Shidou as Tohka raised a hand into the sky.

"Adonai Melek!" she hollered as her school clothes exploded off of her only to be replaced by her armor, before stomping one foot onto the pavement. "Sandalphon!" In a flash, the pillar rose up from the ground and she drew her sword from it. "But first…" she declared coldly as she raised Sandalphon, "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" she bellowed as she smashed the altar, the fragments glowing and reforming into a massive blade around her sword. "Halvenhelev!"

* * *

In a location with a seemingly endless sky and innumerable stars, a woman with long blonde hair, a single cowlick of which stuck out to the side with a green tip, looked up in thought. "Huh… that's odd. There's suddenly a large amount of mana going to Earth…"

* * *

Tohka, now charging directly at Origami, swung the immense sword in her grasp, sending out a shock wave of energy that demolished nearly half of the cliff face, though Origami remained unmoved, her mind and body still frozen.

Ryouko, having flown to get Origami, saw the enraged Tohka closing in. "Origami! Get out of there! Dammit, where's our backup?!"

Origami finally stood up straight and spoke to Ryouko, though with her back still facing her. "Leave me be… I deserve this…"

Ryouko just stared in disbelief before seeing Tohka approach and made to hide.

Tohka scowled down at Origami with raw, seething hatred. "How could you? My friend, my soulmate… you killed Shidou."

"I… killed Shidou… I… I'm a monster… I deserve death… Please… Make me suffer for this…"

"I intend to!" Tohka howled as she sent multiple blasts of energy at Origami, only for the barrier her IS produced to deflect each and every one.

* * *

"C – Captain! What now? What about Shidou?!" one of the bridge crew questioned Kotori desperately.

Kotori merely waved off her concern. "Just keep working. Shidou won't go down that easily." Though her calm exterior was marred slightly by a twitching eyebrow. ' _If the damn snow cone stops trying to freeze his wound!_ '

* * *

"Please get better… please get better… Please…" Yoshino begged repeatedly as she tried to help Shidou, stopping when she noticed small metal objects floating inside his wound, along with faint purple flames. The girl stared at them in bewilderment as the two worked in conjunction to stitch and heal his wound entirely, ending with a sudden burst of flame, startling the rabbit-hooded girl.

Shidou groaned as he slowly opened his eyes before sitting up suddenly as he felt the flames flickering on his body. "Ow, ow, hot!"

"Sh – Shidou!" Yoshino shouted as she created a mist that caused the flames to die down and soothe the teen.

"Y – Yoshino? What's going on?" he asked, completely baffled.

"Y – You're alive…" she sputtered as she wrapped her tiny arms around him.

"W – Well, yeah…"

* * *

"I… killed someone… I killed… Shidou… I'm… no different from… a Spirit… No… I'm worse… I… killed the one I loved…" Origami stammered as her barrier cracked and strained under the assault of Tohka's raw power.

Tohka howled as she took one last swing and smashed through Origami's barrier, the end of her blade managing to get the white-haired girl and put a deep cut on her shoulder as it knocked her to the ground.

Origami slowly looked up at the scowling Tohka. "… End me…"

* * *

"Dammit, why now?!" Shidou snarled as his phone rang over and over.

"So, feeling better?" Kotori asked on the other end.

"I have no time for this Kotori."

"Right, right. Well you better find time, Tohka's about to turn Origami into a memory."

Shidou paled before turning to see where they were fighting.

 **"You'll never get there in time,"** Yoshinon warned.

Shidou clenched his fists in frustration before turning to the small girl. "… Can you two help me get there then?"

"I – I can…" Yoshino answered unsurely, with Yoshinon adding to her remark.

 **"But it might damage the city."**

"Dammit…" he cursed.

"Fufufu… maybe I can be of service," a new voice remarked with amusement, causing Shidou and Yoshinon to turn to the source.

* * *

"We've got another Spirit near Shidou!" one of the bridge crewmen shouted as alarms started blaring.

"You've got to be kidding me," Kotori grumbled. "Just another frustration."

"It's worse than that, ma'am, it's Nightmare!"

"What!?"

"Mind explaining," Reiri urged.

Turning to her with obvious concern in her face, Kotori answered, "Nightmare is the one Spirit the AST and I agree on. She is pure evil."

As she spoke, Reine's lips slightly curled downward.

"No matter how many times the AST beats her, she keeps coming back. And everywhere she goes she leaves a trail of carnage behind her."

"I see…" Reiri remarked in thought.

Iowa flagged everyone's attention and pointed to the monitor. "A Goth Lolita is talking to Shidou."

"Huh?"

* * *

Shidou felt a bead of sweat fall down as his cheek as the source of the voice approached, an elegant looking girl with long black hair, her right eye a bright red with a red-white pupil, her left a bright gold, her iris resembling the face of a clock, her hair tied into two long ponytails with a red and black hairband, wearing a long, long-sleeved, elegant, frilled, red dress that seemed to glow, with black accents that accentuated her generous bust, black high-heeled shoes, black stockings, and two flintlock firearms in her grip.

"Who…?"

The girl merely gave him an amused smile. "Now do you really have time for questions? If you don't get a move on, your little friend will die," she noted in a playful voice.

Shidou winced before looking the girl in the eyes. "… Right. Will you help me get to her?"

"Certainly," she answered before a wide, eerie, almost bloodthirsty smile crossed her face. "For a price."

Without a moment's hesitation, he nodded. "Name it and I'll do what I can."

She licked her lips with satisfaction. "Some of your yummy, yummy mana."

"Deal. Now let's go."

She approached the teen before putting a hand on his cheek, moving it down to his right hand, pulled it up, and bit into the side.

Shidou hissed as she did, before feeling what he could only describe as some of his strength vanish.

Licking her lips, the girl nodded before a round, swirling, black portal appeared at her feet and expanded to surround Shidou, the two sinking into it.

Yoshino flinched before jumping in to follow them as it closed.

* * *

"Begone!" Tohka howled as she raised Halvenhelev above her head, energy swirling around it.

Below her, Origami did not make a single motion to escape the attack.

However, before Tohka could launch her strike, a surprising voice reached her ears.

"Toohhkaa! Stop!" Shidou bellowed as he appeared from the pistol-wielding girl's portal and ran towards Tohka, Yoshino standing behind the girl, dazed.

Tohka stopped mid swing and turned around to see him, her eyes widening with disbelief. "H – Huh? … Shidou? Shidou!"

The mysterious girl smirk as several long, ghostly arms extended out of her portal, grabbed Shidou, and lifted him up into the air. "Don't keep her waiting. Mr. Hero."

Before he could ask what she meant, he was sent flying through the air as the ghostly limbs tossed him forward. "Wh – Whooaa!"

"Shidou!" Tohka cried out as she flew towards him, catching him at the peak of his arc. "Shidou… is it really you?"

"Y – Yeah…" he muttered, still somewhat disoriented.

Her eyes began to become foggy with tears as she whimpered before turning into full crying, hugging Shidou close to her. "Shidou! Shidou! You're alive! You're alive, you're alive! …" However, her joy turned to sadness and guilt in an instant. "But… I need to leave."

Shidou looked at the girl in befuddlement from her words. "Huh? Why?"

"… Whenever I show up here, I cause destruction… and you got hurt… almost died… because I'm here…" she answered somberly.

"So?" he retorted bluntly.

"Maybe it's best if I don't come back…"

"No, that's wrong!" he argued firmly. "Why don't… why don't you stay, and not go back?"

She pulled away somewhat and looked at him, perplexed.

"You only make Spacequakes when you go from the other world to ours, so what if you just stay here? We can even live together!"

She frowned sadly in response. "But you're the only one who feels like that… the Mecha-Mecha Squad, and the other humans, they hate me, fear me…"

Shidou tightened his grip to her shoulders. "If they reject you, then I'll just accept you even more!"

Tohka's cheeks began to turn red as she listened to his words. "Shidou…"

Origami watched the scene, the events occurring baffling her completely. "She… was willing to never come back to stop the quakes… Monsters… she isn't one…" She lowered her head as she spoke to herself. "She… isn't a monster at all…"

"Shidou…" Tohka cooed as she smiled at Shidou.

He returned her smile before he heard a rumbling and saw Tohka's blade begin to send energy out in all directions wildly. "T – Tohka?! What's happening?"

Tohka widened her eyes in shock as she looked at the sword. "Oh no… I've lost control of Halvenhelev, I need to release the energy somewhere."

He paled at the thought. "Don't! Anything but that!"

Looking at him desperately, she argued, "I – If I don't it will explode wiping out the city and everything in it! I don't want you or anyone else to die because of me!"

Shidou bit his lip as he tried to think of a solution. ' _Dammit… that power needs to go somewhere…! Wait… maybe if I seal her, it'll stop…_ ' Realizing his only option, he decided to not skirt around the issue, since time was not on their side. "… Tohka I need you to kiss me."

Tohka looked at him, befuddled.

Shidou, taking this as her not liking the idea, tried to explain himself. "U – Um, well…"

"Shidou, what's a kiss?" she asked bluntly.

He stiffened as he realized what her reaction really meant, then tried to fish through his mind for the right words, before deciding there was only one way to solve the problem. "… This." He swiftly pressed his lips against the beautiful girl's, her eyes going wide as he did.

Suddenly, Halvenhelev's energy began to die down as the massive blade was covered in a spiderweb of glowing cracks before shattering into thousands of shards.

The duo then began slowly floating back towards the ground, Tohka's Astral Dress beginning to disintegrate before vanishing entirely.

Shidou pulled away from her after the kiss, surprised at the influx of strength he momentarily felt, before Tohka suddenly pulled him tighter to her. "T – Tohka…?"

"Stay there…" she muttered shyly, her face bright red, "people will see me…"

Shidou glanced down and realized that Tohka was in fact completely unclothed, her bare chest pressing against him. Gulping down his nervousness and self-control, he immediately took off his blazer and draped it over her shoulders.

Smiling as she leaned against him, Tohka asked quietly, "Shidou… will you take me on a date again…?"

Shidou nodded with a smile as well. "Of course, anytime."

Tohka remained silent but broadened her smile.

Coming back to his senses, Shidou realized something he needed to do and turned around. "Thank you M – huh… where'd she go…?" he wondered as he realized the gun-wielding woman was nowhere to be seen.

Yoshinon piped up, **"She just up and vanished after she tossed ya."**

"Right…"

Tohka furrowed her brow before asking in an almost accusatory tone, "She? She who?"

"Someone who helped me," Shidou answered, almost unaware of Tohka's expression.

* * *

Origami stood on the same cliffside as before, watching the two. ' _He's alive…_ '

Origami then heard a slight crackle on her radio before Reiri's voice came through. "Do you see now?"

The girl remained silent for a moment before nodding. "Yes."

"If you keep fighting the Spirits, you'll likely keep coming into conflict with Shidou. Next time, he might not come back. And that's not to mention that most Spirits are like Tohka, merely trying to live their lives, completely unaware of what the Spacequakes do."

"Okay…"

"What happens next is on you."

After another short static pop the radio comm was cut. She frowned in thought as she looked down towards Shidou at the two girls.

* * *

"Now what…" Shidou wondered curiously, struggling to figure out where to look at Tohka.

"U – Um…" Yoshino spoke up softly, pulling gently on Shidou's sleeve.

The teen turned to her curiously.

"Wh – Where will we go…?" she asked timidly, pointing to Yoshinon as she spoke as well.

"Do you have a home?"

"K – Kind of…" she responded feebly, "but coming here makes big explosions…"

Smiling, he knelt down to her level. "Then you can stay at my home too."

The girl looked at Shidou with bashful excitement.

"You can even be friends with my little sisters."

She lowered her head somewhat, thinking.

"So? Want to come with us Yoshino? Yoshinon?"

After another few moments, Yoshino nodded silently.

"Good. Let's go home then."

* * *

"You can't be serious!" Ryouko shouted as she stood in a large, locker room with Mikie, Houki, and a few other Slayers.

"I am completely serious," Origami answered, speaking to the woman over a radio. "I will deposit the equipment I've been using in a drop box, but after that, I will have no further interaction with the AST. I, Origami Tobiichi, am officially resigning."

"Origami! Origami!" Ryouko shouted repeatedly as the line went dead. "Dammit! What the hell is she thinking…?!"

"Wait, so Origami's gone…?" Mikie questioned with concern.

Ryouko slammed her radio on the floor in rage. "Yes… she's officially quit. What's gotten into her!?"

Houki quietly looked at her commander as she wondered. ' _That really was Shidou… the Shidou I knew as a kid… But why… why would he put himself in such danger to defend a monster…? And now Origami's abandoned us entirely as well…? None of this makes any sense…_ '

* * *

The group managed to return home, with Reiri providing Tohka with a new set of clothes to wear, as Karen opened the door and saw Yoshino and Tohka.

Yoshino fidgeted nervously as Karen stared at her before squealing and rolling her chair forward to grab the nervous girl's hand in excitement. "So cute! Hello my name's Karen! What's yours?"

"Y – Yoshino…" she replied, somewhat taken aback by Karen's energy.

Popping up, Yoshinon also introduced itself. **"And I am Yoshinon the Great!"**

Shidou watched nervously, worried Karen might make things uncomfortable.

To his relief, Karen merely smiled before shaking the puppet's hand. "Nice to meet you, Yoshino, Yoshinon."

Looking behind Karen, Shidou saw Kotori, now wearing her white ribbons. "Kotori?"

"Hey, Bro!" she greeted with a somewhat comical salute.

Yoshino then noticed Origami walking in with Chifuyu and Reiri, causing her to shriek as she hid behind Shidou.

Shidou smiled as he patted her head gently. "It's okay Yoshino. They aren't going to hurt you."

Trembling, the girl retorted, "B – But… she's with the robot people…"

Origami frowned at the girl's fear. "… I quit."

Shidou turned to her in shock. "What?"

"I quit the AST," she reiterated.

Shidou smiled in elation. "R – Really?!" he asked, not quite believing it.

Origami nodded firmly. "Yes."

"That's great!" he replied with a bright smile, before something entered his mind. "But… what about the others…?"

"I'll probably have to fight them, and I will gladly do so to protect you."

Shidou nodded before looking at Yoshino. "Yeah, me too."

Origami raised an eyebrow in confusion. "No, I meant –"

Reiri put a hand up, interrupting her, shaking her head.

Origami frowned in further bewilderment.

Leaning close, Reiri whispered, "If you want him in you it's best to protect what he wishes to protect."

Origami remained silent for a moment, her cheeks subtly tinting before she nodded. "… Right…"

Chifuyu stared in disbelief.

Shidou smiled as Yoshino and Karen spoke, then felt Tohka poke his shoulder.

"Hungry…" she grumbled.

"Shidou will make our dinner," Reiri urged.

Tohka looked up with anticipation as her bow wiggled with excitement.

Shidou smiled and rebutted, "It's nothing special, I'm still trying to get better."

Tohka frowned slightly, with Chifuyu sighing in the background. ' _… Poor naive girl. Knows not what she will get into._ '

* * *

Sometime later, Shidou sat in his room, finally taking the chance to rest, when his cell began to ring. "Hel –?" He barely had the time to answer when Aika's voice shouted from the other end.

"Don't act so casual after all that you jerk!"

"E – Eh? What are you talking about?" Shidou stammered, taken aback by her outburst, and uncertain how to handle the situation.

"First I see you with that random girl in the shopping district and then I see you in reports about those explosions yesterday! What kind of crazy are you getting involved with?! Is it more of those gilded whatevers?"

"Wh – Whoa, Aika, slow down… You need to calm down." Shidou tried to stop her from saying so many things in a single breath.

"I will when you explain what the hell that was about!" she shouted with growing frustration.

The blue-haired teen sat for a moment in thought. "… Not over the phone."

"… I'll be there in a second," she grumbled before hanging up.

Shidou sighed as he put away his phone before opening the window above his bed, with Aika seamlessly leaping from her own window in through his, Shidou closing the pane behind her. "Can never use the door like normal people…"

"It's quicker this way," she answered bluntly.

Shidou just stared at her, surprised by her attitude. Then a thought occurred to him. "… You don't sneak into my room at night, do you?"

Aika's twintails nearly stood on end as her face turned a bright red. "D – Don't be stupid! Why would I do that?!"

"No idea. I don't really understand anything with you," he retorted very dryly.

Their exchange was interrupted as Tohka began pounding on the door to his room. "Shidou, what's all the noise about? And when's dinner!?"

Aika's abashment turned to irritation at the new, clearly female, voice. "… Who is that?"

Shidou felt his throat dry up at her glare. "Part of what I'm trying to explain…"

Tohka began knocking even harder, her annoyance seeming to turn into worry. "Shidou!"

"Sh – Shidou…?" Yoshino also called out from the other side of the door.

The additional voice did not help Shidou's standing to Aika.

Yoshinon added the last straw as it shouted, **"Ooh, maybe Shidou's doing his private time thing!"**

Tohka was completely confused by that remark.

Aika, however, got what the puppet was talking about causing her face to twist red with surprise, embarrassment, and a small amount of nausea. "Y – Your what?!"

Tohka's attention was drawn away from the puppet's confusing commentary to the unfamiliar voice in Shidou's room. "Wait, there's someone in there! Open up, Shidou!"

"It isn't locked," he replied, which Tohka took as her que to slam the door open so hard it nearly flew off the hinges.

Tohka and Aika both stared silently at each other, eying up the girl opposite them.

After a few tense moments, Tohka pointed to the twin-tailed girl and asked, "… Who's he?"

Aika responded with a noise that sounded like it came from the mouth of an otherworldly monster before shouting back, "He?! I'm a girl you dolt!"

Tohka tilted her head with sincere confusion. "Really? You don't have any boobs."

Shidou felt that the current moment was a good time to try and make an exit, slowly backing away from the increasingly enraged Aika.

"What… did… you… just… say…?!"

Tohka, oblivious to the hatred she was fostering, repeated, "That you have no boobs. Why?"

Shidou had the sudden urge to pray for Tohka as a smile that was less than kind twitchily formed on Aika's lips. "… I'm going to crush you."

Before any fists could start flying, Shidou jumped between the two. "T – Time out, time out! No fighting please!"

Tohka raised an eyebrow in genuine bewilderment. "Huh? We're fighting?"

Aika's rage almost immediately dissipated at the atom-smashing density she just witnessed.

 **"Wow…"** even Yoshinon was surprised.

Aika groaned heavily before putting a hand on Shidou's shoulder with an extremely firm grip. "Explain. Now."

Shidou decided that lying was not the best option, but he also could not tell her the entire truth. So he picked something that was not a lie, but not necessarily the truth. "… My girlfriend."

Aika stared at him quietly, as if waiting for a punchline. "… What?"

"My girlfriend," he answered, with more conviction.

Aika frowned incredulously before looking at Yoshino. "… Then who's the brat?"

Shidou reflexively shot back, "A friend, and a sweet young girl you shouldn't insult."

Aika narrowed her eyes, deciding the runaround was getting on her nerves. "… Okay, what's _actually_ going on here…?"

Yoshinon sighed in annoyance. **"Wow this girl is annoying."**

Aika's curiosity turned to irritation as she glared at Yoshino, presuming her the source of the backtalk. "What was that squirt?!"

Yoshinon did not help matters as it snickered. **"Stupid too. Yelling at Yoshino like that."**

Aika twitched an eyebrow violently before snatching the puppet off of Yoshino's hand. "Enough with the damned puppet!"

"Yoshinon!" the petite girl cried out in despair.

"A – Aika!" Shidou called out, knowing such actions would not have a good result.

Aika, seemingly still unaware of what she had just done, snarled, "I don't want her to keep talking to me through this thing."

Yoshino trembled and whimpered before breaking out into a full cry, causing the temperature in the house to plummet drastically.

"G – Geez, why is it so cold…?" Aika questioned, shivering, not putting the dropping temperature and Yoshino's wails together.

"Wh – What the hell's going on?!" Chifuyu shouted as she stumbled towards Shidou's room, frigid.

"H – How should I know?!" Aika shouted, tossing Yoshinon into the air, Origami managing to catch it before it hit the floor.

Yoshino's tears subsided as Origami handed the puppet back to the watery-eyed girl. "Here."

"Th – Thank you…" she returned with a light sniffle.

Aika's jaw dropped as the temperature returned to normal and she came to a stark realization. "Wait… did… did she do that…?"

"Yes," Shidou answered with a nod, realizing any attempt to hide it was pointless.

Aika stared at him in thought before wanting a full answer. "… Explain. Now."

"… Right…" Shidou answered weakly, understanding the ruse was up.

* * *

Aika stared into the distance with shock. "… That's insane…"

"Tell me about it…" Shidou groaned as he rubbed the back of his neck in exasperation.

"So you have to kiss all these girls to seal them?" Her eyes then fell on the petite Yoshino. "Even that kid…?"

Yoshinon picked up on Aika's expression and snickered deviously. **"Well aren't you jealous?"**

Stiffening with a tint to her cheeks, the girl shot back, "I – I'm not jealous! I just don't like the idea of Shidou being a Lolicon!"

Yoshinon continued teasing her. **"Oh? Well with boobs like Yoshino's it'd be easy for him to become one."**

Her face turning increasingly red, Aika growled at the puppet. "You'd better clam up or I'll stick you in a wood chipper!" She felt her heart sink as a depressing realization came to her. "… Oh my god I'm having an argument with a toy… Yep, I've officially lost it…"

 **"Did ya have any to begin with?"**

Shidou put a hand between the duo, heading off any further retorts. "Aika, stop being mean to Yoshinon, and Yoshinon, stop antagonizing her."

Aika nodded with a sigh, Yoshinon answering with a snicker. **"Aww… but it's fun…"**

"Yoshinon…" Shidou urged firmly, causing the stuffed rabbit to sigh in defeat.

 **"Okay, okay. I'll stop…"**

Shidou nodded in approval. "Good. I'll make some treats just for you and Yoshino later."

Yoshino looked up at him with joy. "R – Really…?"

Aika stared in silent discomfort before suddenly grabbing Shidou by the arm, dragging him back into his room, slamming the door shut, and locking it.

Yoshinon whistled with interest. **"So bold."**

"A – Aika!?" Shidou stammered in bewilderment as the girl moved to his bed and sat down with a huff.

"Okay, now we can talk without those two. Okay, so those two are these Spirit things that cause Spacequakes. Why not just get rid of them?"

Shidou frowned in disappointment at her reasoning. "Because they're not mindless beasts, they're people. Tohka wasn't even aware of what her Spacequakes caused. She certainly didn't have any control over them. She doesn't even know what kept bringing her back here."

"Right…" Aika accepted his reasoning, but was not convinced.

He continued. "So I've started sealing them instead so that they don't need to be killed but so they also aren't still hurting people."

"I see…" With a groan, Aika rubbed her temple in frustration. "Why do I get a feeling that will just end up causing more problems though…?"

Shidou just shrugged. "No clue."

* * *

On the edge of the city, a swirling black void appeared above the rooftop of a building, disappearing almost immediately as a figure stepped out.

The person who emerged from it looked around with cold eyes. "So… This is where my sister's power disappeared…"

* * *

On the Fraxinus, one of the operators silently watched the monitor in front of her before something caught her eye. "Huh… That's odd…"

"Vhat is wrong?" Bismarck questioned, noticing the woman's reaction.

Turning to the blonde-haired officer, she explained, "We just received some signals that indicate a possible Space Quake but…"

"But…? But what?" Iowa prodded.

Unsure of herself, the woman remained silent for a moment. "It just vanished not long after…"

"Think it might be an Abyssal?" Kongou posited.

"Doubt it," Bismarck answered. "Zhey don't appear on land much. Is zhere anyzhing else of note?"

The woman's concern increased as she tried to understand what the screen was telling her. "From what the energy reading said… It was an exact match for Princess…"

Iowa furrowed her brow in confusion, Bismarck narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "How iz zhat possible…? Keep an eye on zhe signature and inform me vizh any updates."

"Yes, ma'am!" The woman saluted before returning to her seat.

* * *

"Are they the only Spirits?" asked Aika.

Shidou shook his head. "No, I know of at least one more. She helped me stop Tohka from killing Origami."

"Right…" Aika said in thought before bringing it back to the topic most on her mind. "Have you kissed the kid?"

Shidou again gave her a denial. "No. I have yet to take her on a date."

Aika frowned at his logic. "Right… because _that's_ the only problem…"

Before they could continue their conversation, Chifuyu shouted up from the first floor.

"Oh what now…?" Shidou groaned.

"Your new trainer is here. So get down here!"

* * *

 **Aaand cut! Thus ends chapter six of Armored Spirits. I hope everyone enjoyed it, be sure to leave a review letting me know if you did. If you were confused, unsure, or just have questions on anything, leave a review with those queries as well and I will do what I can to address them in the next reviewer response. If there were any characters you did not recognize, tell me who they were in a review and I will itemize each one for you. If you did not enjoy the chapter, review if you must, though might I suggest a more beneficial use of your time, such as whittling. That said, nothing more from me, so until next time, bye-bye!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter VII**

 **Hello everybody! I am back with another chapter of Armored Spirits! Hopefully everyone enjoyed the previous chapter, seems at least several of you have, which is always good. I hope you enjoy this one too, so be sure to let me know with a review if you did. That said, on to the reviewer responses!**

 **Skull Flame: Lots of meetings going on.**

 **No. Wasn't her.**

 **Indeed it does.**

 **It did initially.**

 **Male? What makes you say it was male?**

 **Fortitude501: Could be, I wouldn't know.**

 **You have to admit, Twoearl should've seen that coming.**

 **Touki? I'm going to assume you mean Houki?**

 **Karen gets along with almost anyone.**

 **Well there's certainly not a lot there.**

 **Which is now.**

 **freeforall546: Christmas? I don't know if I'd go that far, but it is an occasion. Well, well, aren't we rather knowledgeable?**

 **Nothing else for now, so on with the main event!**

* * *

As Shidou spoke with Aika, Chifuyu shouted up from the first floor.

"Oh what now…?" Shidou groaned.

"Your new trainer is here. So get down here!"

"… New trainer…?" he wondered curiously as he made his way downstairs.

Reiri, speaking to someone, heard Shidou come down and moved aside, motioning to the new person. "Ah, there you are. I believe I mentioned her once before, this is my Partner, Yu-Mi Kim."

Shidou looked past his sister and saw a tall woman with short, neat brown hair that had a slight green tint to it, light grey eyes, dressed in a flattering, blue business suit with dark brown stockings, though what stood out most was her impressive bust, outsizing even Reiri. "Wh – Whoa…" he unwittingly muttered.

Yu-Mi bowed politely to Shidou, resulting in her ample bust swaying freely.

Trying to refocus his attention, he spoke up, "S – So you're my sister's girlfriend?"

Yu-Mi stared at him in silent thought for a moment before her cheeks turned red as she stumbled back slightly. "G – G – Girlfriend?! Reiri, what have you been telling him?!"

Reiri raised an eyebrow in curiosity, a light tint to her own cheeks, but she otherwise appeared unfazed. "Nothing like that, I can assure you."

Shidou, feeling like he had already put a foot in his mouth, tried to fix the situation. "W – Well she did say you're her partner…"

Yu-Mi seemed to put the pieces together as she made a very flustered attempt to correct him. "Partner! As in combat Partner! She's my Limiter!"

Shidou winced and tried to hide in his own neck. "O – Oh… S – Sorry…"

Yu-Mi groaned in exasperation as she scratched her head. "I – It's fine, just so long as you understand."

"R – Right…"

After a moment of quiet for the atmosphere to return to normal, Yu-Mi redirected the conversation. "So I take it you're the kid I'm here to train?"

"I guess so…" he answered, his eyes still uncomfortably darting around. ' _They're so big I don't know where to look!_ '

Aika seemed to notice his response and scanned around the room herself, her eyes going from Yu-Mi, to Reiri, to Chifuyu, then Twoearl, Reine, Tohka, Yoshino, and then finally she looked toward her own feet. It was then that a vessel began to pulse on her forehead.

Shidou managed to pick up on the girl's anger, but not on the reason, with Yoshinon snickering knowingly. However, his attention shifted when he pieced together what was happening. "Wait, so does that mean I'll start training now?"

Chifuyu shook her head in denial. "No. Yu-Mi just got here and needs to unpack her things first."

Shidou raised an eyebrow in thought, glancing between Yu-Mi and Reiri before just asking his thought aloud. "… Is she staying in Big Sis' room?"

Yu-Mi flinched before looking at Reiri in disbelief. "Reiri, why is your little brother such a pervert?!"

Sighing, Reiri retorted, "Sadly he isn't…"

Yu-Mi stared at her in bewildered silence before just grunting in confusion.

"What? You heard me."

"But… haa…" she trailed off with a sigh. "I can see you're as incomprehensible as always."

Shidou watched the exchange before Aika, having observed the two well-endowed women arguing back and forth, suddenly stomped out of the house. "… What was that about?"

Yoshinon gave Shidou a look that was about as close to deadpan as a puppet could get. **"Seriously?"**

"Wait, do you know?"

Origami pushed Yoshino's arm down before the faux rabbit could respond. "It is nothing to worry about."

"R – Right…" he answered, as clueless as ever to what was going on around him. "So, where is your friend sleeping, Sis? I think all the spare rooms are used up…"

With stomping steps, Aika suddenly burst back into the Hida house. "What the hell?!"

 **"Loudmouth Tsun is back,"** Yoshinon commented dryly.

"Who the hell built the apartment complex?!"

Reiri gave a small expression of pleased surprise. "Ah, that was finished much quicker than I anticipated."

Shidou looked at his elder sister with a gaze of extreme suspicion. "Sis… what did you and Twoearl do…?"

* * *

"Tahdah!" Twoearl cheered as she motioned to a massive, multi-story apartment complex next to the Hida home.

Shidou felt all the air leave his chest as he looked at it in shock. "What the heeellllll!? HOW THE HELL DID WE NOT NOTICE THIS?!"

Twoearl puffed out her already voluminous chest with pride. "That's the power of my construction! Here we have the new Spirit apartment! Six floors, and thirty rooms on each floor for a total of one hundred eighty rooms!"

Taking them inside, Twoearl showed off the interior of the building, their path swiftly interrupted when Iowa came out of one of the rooms, hair still damp, dressed in nothing but a towel wrapped around her midsection. "Morning neighbors!"

Shidou immediately and reflexively slapped a hand over his nose, Aika growling out, "How many flabby bitches are we going to meet?!"

Bismarck sighed as she walked out behind Iowa, and then noticed the group. "Ah, guten morgen."

Aika's twintails began twitching like rattlesnakes.

Shidou then turned his attention to his eldest sister. "And you didn't tell me about this because…?!"

Reiri looked at him somewhat puzzled. "I figured you'd you already know."

"How!?"

"You think our home is big enough to house all the Spirits on its own? Or the support units?" she retorted plainly.

"Well that doesn't mean building an apartment building right next door makes any sense!" Shidou shot back, his patience wearing quite thin.

"How else would they be able to get here on short notice?"

"How should I know?! Isn't that your job!?"

Iowa, who had not left to get changed, instead still standing in just a towel, blinked in thought before smirking. "Oh, is Shidou movin' in too? He can move in with me."

Reiri nodded in response. "He is not, but I will keep that in mind."

Shidou finally felt his patience snap. "Stop trying to pimp me out!"

Reiri just turned to him curiously, as if not hearing him.

Before the exchange could go further, the city's sirens began blaring loudly.

Shidou frowned as he looked around the area. "Oh what now…?"

Holding up her phone, Reiri nodded as she listened to the person on the other end before nodding and putting it away. "Understood." Turning to the others, she explained, "It's Ultimagil."

Shidou let out a small sigh of relief. "Oh thank god it's not another Space Quake…"

Iowa, however, tilted her head, completely lost. "What's an Umami grill?"

Twoearl is the one who answered her. "Ultimagil, and they are vile monsters that need to be utterly eradicated."

"Like Savages?"

"More like humans fused with Savages," Reiri elucidated.

"Oh. That sounds bad. Oh well, let's go kill it!" she cheered as she slammed her fists together. However, she noticed the somewhat troubled expression on Twoearl's face. "What?"

Twoearl answered, "It's best if Tail Red handles it."

Iowa just tilted her head in further bewilderment, Shidou, however, spoke up vehemently. "It's not safe for Souji to fight those things."

"Souji will be fine," Twoearl answered with a smile.

Ignoring her, Shidou turned his attention to Reiri. "Sis, where's the Swallow?"

Reiri shook her head in denial. "Undergoing maintenance after that fight you had for Origami and the AST."

Shidou hissed in frustration as he tried to think of an alternative. "… Is there any other I can use? Maybe an Uchigane?"

"Not here, no," Chifuyu responded, shooting down that idea. "We'd need to get one transported in."

"… Damn…"

After a moment, Yu-Mi spoke up. "Should I go Reiri?"

Reiri looked at her in thought. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

Yu-Mi smirked as she flexed her shoulder. "Not at all. It'd be good to actually fight for once instead of being behind a desk."

Reiri nodded in return. "Then by all means. Take out that freak."

"Right. How do I find him?"

The answer was provided when a large explosion went off near the shopping center.

"Follow the smoke," Reiri retorted.

"Right." With that, Yu-Mi ran off at high speed.

* * *

The group eventually found the source, another Lizardgildy, though its scales were a blue hue rather than green, accompanied by a small cadre of Savages.

The Lizardgildy cackled into the air as the Savages charged at people in the area. **"Gahahaha! This is great! There's so much attribute here! It is such a paradise!"**

Yu-Mi ran towards a Savage looming over a woman and sent a powerful kick that toppled the beast against a wall before turning to the monster in charge. "Hey, jackass, pick on someone your own size!"

Shidou nearly fell to the floor as he slid to stop before groaning. "… She could have worded that better…"

The Lizardgildy huffed in confusion before turning to see Yu-Mi and howled. **"Huh? Tits! Nice big tits! How much milk you got in them?!"** It immediately charged at Yu-Mi with its claws.

Reiri and Yu-Mi's expression suddenly became perfectly matched before they both called out, "Ereinbar Set!"

Yu-Mi's body was momentarily engulfed in light before a long, black lance formed out of green sparks of energy that grabbed hold of and swung, swatting Lizardgildy's arm away.

Reiri then immediately raised a hand towards the beast. "Freeze!" A large grid of bright green hexagons formed just above the ground, one lighting up as it appeared under Lizardgildy's feet.

The beast looked down with subdued surprise. **"E – Eh?! A Freezing Field?!"**

Yu-Mi kicked off the ground and rushed at Lizardgildy so forcefully she left a small crater, her spear impaling it through the lower torso.

However, the beast merely smirked before tendrils shot out of its back and grabbed Yu-Mi, hoisting her off the ground with her spear still impaled in the armored creature.

"Th – The hell?!" she exclaimed in disbelief.

"How can he still move?" Reiri questioned with a look of genuine shock.

Lizardgildy merely cackled as its tendrils held Yu-Mi, who attempted to free herself from them. **"Gahahaha! Gotcha now tits! Now give me your attribute!"**

"Dammit…!" Shidou cursed in desperation as he grabbed a pipe lying on the ground nearby.

Before he could do anything, Souji came running past him. "Tail On!" she shouted as she was enveloped in light and transformed into Tail Red. A large sword encased in flames appeared in her grasp which she swung in a wide arc, cleaving all of Lizardgildy's tendrils and freeing Yu-Mi.

 **"Gyahoowwch! That hurt you loli bitch!"** Lizardgildy howled in pain.

Tail Red stood ready with her sword before shooting back, "Yeah, well I don't even want to know what you had planned with those creepy things!"

Yu-Mi took the opportunity and leapt back to where Reiri was standing, shaken and confused. "What the hell just happened…?"

Reiri growled in frustration. "I have no idea. My Freezing Field had no effect on him."

Lizardgildy snarled as it looked at Tail Red. **"Then I'll just put you down and grab them Nova Whores!"**

Shidou reflexively opposed, "Don't call my friends that!"

Lizardgildy leaned to the side slightly, looking at Shidou. **"Eh? Who the hell are you?"**

Tail Red took the momentary distraction and swung her sword at the creep, sending a blast of flame flying out that Lizardgildy dodged before attempting to dash around her towards Yu-Mi. "No you don't!" She proceeded to fire of a few more blasts that hit him in the back and exploded, knocking Lizardgildy to the ground.

Standing up with a hiss, he turned to her enraged. **"Okay, I've had it with you, brat! Prepare to have your Attribute taken!"** he shouted before sending a blast of energy at her that she knocked away, giving him the chance to send out his tendrils to ensnare her. **"Twintails always have the best Attribute… I'm going to enjoy this!"**

Tail Red paled as they raced towards her and recoiled in disgust. "Kya! Stay away!" The various gems on her suit suddenly began to glow brightly.

 **"E – Eh?"**

Light began to condense around her bracelets before floating out and forming a ball of energy that slowly fluttered towards Lizardgildy.

 **"… Huh?"** he mumbled before curiously poking it, instantly striking an immense explosion.

Tail Red nearly got sent flying before digging her sword into the ground, Reiri turning around and activating a Freezing Field to keep Shidou and the others rooted to the ground from the shock wave.

The blast rocked outwards for several seconds before suddenly shooting up into the sky and evaporating, leaving little more than a cloud of smoke.

Reiri sighed in frustration as she deactivated her field.

"… Is it over?" Yu-Mi asked with slight trepidation as she looked to where Lizardgildy had been, only to see a crater with smoke rising out of it.

Tail Red blinked curiously as she peered into the smoke and saw a small crystal float to the ground, before jumping down to grab it.

Looking at the situation, Shidou retorted, "Considering that bastard is gone and there's a giant crater in the road, I'm gonna say yes."

Yu-Mi sighed in relief. "Good." Looking around for a moment to verify a crowd had not started to form, she turned her attention to Reiri. "Now, how the hell did he resist the Freezing Field? There shouldn't be anything in existence that can…"

Reiri put a hand on her chin in thought. "This is going to require further study…"

Tail Red reverted back to Souji, who immediately ran over to Shidou and the others. "Y – You guys alright?!"

Yu-Mi nodded as she put a hand on her shoulder with a hint of disgust. "Yeah, I'm fine. He only managed to grab me."

Sighing in relief, Souji turned her attention to Twoearl. "Hey, Twoearl, what was that?"

The silver-haired woman explained, "Aura Pillar, the Tail Gear's ultimate attack, and you managed to do great with it."

"Right…" she responded, her brow furrowing in thought.

"Something wrong?" Shidou asked, seeing that.

Souji shrugged as she answered. "I… don't know how I did it. The idea of that creep touching me just grossed me out so much, and next thing I know he's been vaporized."

"I see…" Shidou turned his attention to Reiri with a firm look. "We need to get the Swallow fixed as soon as possible."

Reiri nodded, albeit somewhat flippantly. "Sure. But for now, I'm sure everyone's exhausted, so let's eat. And you're cooking."

"Right…" he grumbled as she dodged the issue again.

* * *

"Mm… smells good," Yu-Mi noted as she walked into the dining room as Shidou and Kotori set out the food.

Reiri nodded in agreement. "It is. Be careful on eating it though."

As she set several pieces of seasoned steak, sautéed onions, and grilled chicken on her plate, Yu-Mi retorted with a smirk, "I can handle hot food." Taking a piece of the steak and biting some off, she suddenly stiffened before trembling slightly, feeling sudden heat spread throughout her body. "Wh – What is this…?!"

Shidou frowned slightly as he put some pieces on a plate for Yoshino. "Is it that bad…?"

The woman turned to him incredulously. "… Eh? N – No, on the contrary, it's amazing. Hell, you could even attend Little Garden's cooking Academy with such skill. Maybe even be among the top students."

Shidou laughed weakly before shaking his head. "I don't know about that. I definitely practice my cooking, but I'm not good enough for some academy."

"With food like this?"

Kotori stared in disbelief when she saw Tohka gleefully eating entire chunks of the steak with nary a reaction.

Turning to Shidou, Tohka excitedly asked, "So yummy! Is there more Shidou?!"

He nodded with a smile as he handed her more.

Yoshino very carefully ate small nibbles of the meal as she watched the others, before Yoshinon spoke up. " **Come oooon… Take a big bite Yoshino!"** Yoshino and Karen just stared at the puppet uncomfortably. **"Yoshinooo… come on and bite into iiiiiiit!"**

Yoshino whimpered in frustration at the puppet's persistent prodding and took a large bite out of one of the beef steaks.

Kotori leaned back in concern and waited quietly.

Yoshino suddenly stood from her seat. "… I – I'll be right back…" Without waiting for a response, the girl suddenly rushed off from the room.

"Y – Yoshino!" Shidou called out as she ran before sighing. "Guess she really didn't like it…"

Yu-Mi just looked at him with annoyance. "… You are frustratingly modest."

Shidou raised an eyebrow as he looked at her, perplexed.

* * *

Sometime after the meal, Miharu walked up to Reiri and patted her on the shoulder as the woman stood outside, looking at the apartment building.

"Hello, Miharu," she greeted.

"Hey, Rei-Rei, how much is it if Sou-Chan and I want to stay in those apartments?"

Reiri raised an eyebrow as she thought over the question. "Hmm… I believe Twoearl and I discussed it at twenty thousand yen per month."

Miharu gaped in disbelief. "Really, that's all?!"

"Yes," Reiri answered plainly.

"What's all the noise about?" Souji asked as she walked up to the two women, Shidou also walking out after having cleaned up the kitchen.

Miharu turned to her daughter and grabbed her hands firmly. "Souji, let's do it!"

"D – Do it? Do what!?"

"Move into these apartments! They're _way_ cheaper than our current house! We'll even get the room closest to Shidou's house!"

Souji looked at her mother quietly, while Shidou just stared incredulously. The redhead then nodded somewhat nervously. "O – Okay."

"Great!" Miharu cheered, Shidou just more confused with every passing moment.

* * *

After that discussion, Shidou went in his home to tell Tohka and Yoshino about the apartment and that they would be staying there.

"No!" Yoshino shouted in a sudden, unexpected bout of defiance.

Shidou stumbled back slightly, surprised at the reaction.

"I don't want to live in a different place!"

Yoshinon chimed in as well. **"Yoshino doesn't want to live somewhere else!"**

"But…" Shidou argued sheepishly.

 **"Yoshino and Yoshinon want to stay here with Shidou."**

Reiri interjected on the conversation. "We don't have any more rooms here. I do know one solution, however."

Shidou stared his sister down with knowing annoyance. "… I get the feeling you planned this…"

Without batting a lash at his accusation, she continued. "The very top floor has a master suite you can stay in, Shidou."

Shidou's shoulders slumped in defeat. "… Ah… Yeah, you planned this."

"Now let's get you settled in."

Chifuyu frowned interrupted the discussion. "… Question."

"Yes?" Reiri replied, turning to her sister.

"How will we get him to make breakfast in the morning if he's on the top floor of that building?"

"We move as well, naturally," the busty woman answered plainly.

"What about my lab in your house?" Twoearl questioned somewhat annoyed, Shidou just groaning as the discussion continued without him.

"I –" Reiri began to answer before Chifuyu cut her off.

"You'll be staying at the house. Kotori, Karen and I will stay with Shidou."

Reiri attempted to argue, only for Twoearl to interrupt.

"This _was_ your idea after all, Rei-Chan."

Shidou watched as Reiri pouted in defeat, finding it surprisingly cute.

* * *

"Whoa… this room is huge," Shidou awed as he walked into the apartment's topmost room with Yoshino and Yoshinon. The room was easily four times the size of the room he currently had, with a large bed in the center, four equally sized walls surrounding it, a tile floor that, curiously, had a drain positioned at the foot of the bed, and several doors around the periphery.

Yoshino was equally awestruck by the room. "Yeah…"

Yoshinon nodded in agreement. **"Ooh… This place looks very ritzy. Got a water bed?"**

Raising an eyebrow, Shidou walked up to the large bed in the center of the room and pressed down on it. It was surprisingly soft, but beyond that was a normal bed. "No, just big."

The puppet attempted its best form of a pout. **"Boring…"**

Shidou looked at Yoshinon in confusion. "It's a bed, how exciting could it be?"

The rabbit stared at him for a few silent moments. **"… Really?"**

"Y – Yeah… why?"

It continued staring at him, and he could feel a sense of annoyance from it.

"… Yoshinon?"

 **"You have no idea what fun can be had on beds… do you?"**

Looking around the room, Shidou pointed to the wall-sized television positioned on the eastern wall, opposite the one they had come in. "Video games?"

Yoshinon gave an audible groan. **"… I think I'm just going to sleep for a bit now."**

"Okay…?"

Shidou and Yoshino both stared silently as Yoshinon snored.

"… I'm… gonna go back home."

"This is your home now," Chifuyu interjected as she walked in.

"You can't seriously be okay with everything getting uprooted like this, Sis!"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Chifuyu questioned, curiously.

Shidou grumbled and retorted, "First this thing pops up out of nowhere, and now Big Sis wants us to move all our stuff into it…?!"

"She's keeping her stuff at the house."

Shidou twitched an eyebrow and sighed in defeat. "Of course, she gets to stay home…"

Chifuyu raised an eyebrow at his words. "What?"

Shidou just waved a hand in dismissal. "It's nothing. So will I get any help moving my stuff?"

She nodded in return. "Of course."

"Right…" Sighing heavily as he headed towards his room. "How did all this crazy happen at once…?"

"Because Fate loves you?" Twoearl added.

Shidou looked at her, irritated. "Love doesn't seem like the right word."

"Really?"

"More like it sees me as a toy or plaything…"

Twoearl just shrugged with a smile. "Same thing."

He stared at her flatly. "… I don't think that's right…"

Twoearl tilted her head curiously. "Why not?"

Shidou groaned in frustration before changing the subject. "Forget it. So you were able to build that underground base without vehicles and able to build that apartment in a flash, but you can't move the lab?"

Twoearl laughed off his question, seeing it as ridiculous. After a moment, she realized he was serious. "Well duh. It's already been built."

"Right… because common sense has constrained you so much already…"

Seemingly ignoring his comment, Twoearl remarked, "Now then… You sure you don't want me to work on the Swallow?"

"I don't want you putting anything perverted on it," he answered bluntly.

Twoearl pouted sadly. "Meanie…"

Twitching an eyebrow, Shidou rebuffed, "So you admit that's what you'd do."

Twoearl stared at him, confused. "Huh? Admit what?"

Shidou felt his shoulders sink as he lost braincells talking to her. "… Nothing…" With a final sigh, he walked off.

After a short wait to ensure he was gone, Twoearl pulled out a cellphone and hurriedly dialed a number. "Hey big sis, do we still have that Drag Ride we stole?"

She waited for an answer from the other end, and her eyes went wide when she got it.

"We do?! Great!"

* * *

Shidou sighed as he laid in his abnormally large bed. "What to do today…"

"Let's go on another date!" Tohka exclaimed as she burst into the room.

Shidou, mostly unfazed by her excitement, put a hand on his chin. "Hm… maybe…"

 **"Well aren't you forward?"** Yoshinon teased, sitting on its usual perch of Yoshino's arm.

"S – So what if I am!?" Tohka shot back, blushing.

Yoshinon just kept staring with a wide grin. **"You wanna Tether with him some more, don't'cha?"**

Shidou, however, was greatly confused. "Tether? Like tetherball?"

 **"Nope! It's whe –"** Before Yoshinon could finish its sentence, Tohka slapped a hand over its mouth.

Yoshino just looked on with adorable confusion, Shidou watching on, perplexed as well.

"Y – Y – You will say no more!" Tohka sputtered.

Yoshinon huffed and mumbled, attempting to speak.

Shidou just sighed before hearing a knock at his door. Opening it, he saw Origami standing there in a rather fancy outfit. For Origami, that is. "… What is it…?"

"Date," she stated plainly.

"… Hah?"

"Let's go on a date."

Shidou stood silent for a moment as his brain tried to make sense of what was happening. "Um… wh –?"

Before he could, Tohka jumped in between the two of them. "Oh hell no!"

"T – Tohka!?"

"You are _not_ being alone with Shidou, Mecha-Mecha girl! You'll just try to get him killed!"

Origami twitched an eyebrow, though her expression remained neutral. "No," she rebuffed bluntly.

"Hey, stop arguing you two," Shidou intervened, hoping to defuse the situation.

Tohka looked at him somewhat surprised, then saw Origami merely nod in deference to him. Tohka puffed her cheeks with a pout before sighing. "… F – Fine. But I'm still not letting you go on a date with her! It's too dangerous!"

"I won't let him die," Origami retorted firmly.

Tohka shot back, "You already shot him!"

"Accident. He survived."

"And what if he –?!"

Before their squabble could continue, a very irate Chifuyu harshly chopped them both on the head, a vein bulging on her forehead. "No shouting this early in the morning, dammit! Some of us are trying to sleep!"

The girls both whimpered in pain.

Shidou sighed in relief as the kerfuffle finally came to an end.

* * *

Later in the day, Reiri stood on the bridge of Fraxinus with Chifuyu and Kotori.

Chifuyu noticed her elder sister pouring over a pile of documents. "Something wrong?"

Without pulling her attention from the papers, Reiri answered. "I'm looking over the information Kotori's group has on this 'Nightmare'."

"And?"

"She is a very efficient killer."

"I see…" Chifuyu noted in thought before Reiri pulled up an image of a large warehouse, piled high with dozens of corpses. "Wh – What the…?"

"That's what's left of the gang who was extorting Hinako. Naturally their hold of the city is gone as well."

"Holy hell…" Chifuyu noted in awe.

"Now you see my point," Kotori remarked coldly.

"She did our job for us…" Chifuyu remarked, almost disappointed.

Kotori looked at her sister in disbelief for several silent moments. "… Huh?"

Reiri stared at the image, thinking. "Wonder how she found this scum so fast to… She'd probably make a great bounty hunter…"

Kotori turned to her eldest sister in shock. "You can't be serious… She's a murderous monster!"

Reiri remained quiet as she raised an eyebrow. Chifuyu interjected in the silence. "Hm… do you have any idea how to contact her?"

"Why would I!?" Kotori shot back.

"You know about Spirits," Reiri answered plainly.

Kotori nodded firmly. "I do, and I know this one is nothing but danger."

Reiri quietly narrowed her eyes as she studied the screen.

Kotori noticed her sister's inquisitive expression and found it troubling. "… What…?"

"Do you have a list of everyone she's killed?"

Kotori stopped silent, not expecting that question. "H – Huh? Well, not all of them, but we have the ones that were confirmed to be her, and every scene we've come across, the victims' mana is completely drained."

"Then show me the ones you know are her."

"Okay…?" Motioning to one of the bridge crew, the large screen was then filled with an image of two corpses in an alley, one a man with a large hole in his chest, the other a younger man with a single hole in his head. "This is one of her earliest confirmed kills."

Reiri studied the image carefully for several moments before speaking. "Hmm… Any information on the victims?"

Kotori tilted her head in confusion. "I don't see how it matters, but what we do know is the guy in the middle was a drug dealer. The other guy was just someone from the community. Though I believe his widow posthumously accused him of abuse."

"So scum," Reiri spat out coldly.

Kotori was somewhat taken aback by Reiri's reaction. "I – I suppose you could look at it like that…"

"Next?"

The next image flashed on screen showing at least seven bodies. "Here's the next one. According to police reports we managed to get, a woman claimed these men took her after she got lost in the unfamiliar town."

Reiri hissed in disgust. "Let me guess. They tried to rape her, or worse, sell her into slavery."

Kotori just shrugged. "That's what she assumed they were trying to do. All she remembers is blacking out and then waking up with them all dead."

"Any corpse that _didn't_ deserve to be one?" Chifuyu remarked sarcastically.

Kotori frowned slightly before flipping to another image. "This woman was apparently part of a group. She would apparently lure men to alleys where they'd get mugged or murdered. Beyond that she didn't participate."

"So she was the boss, then," Reiri remarked.

"Right…" Kotori remarked, completely oblivious to Reiri's idea. "Last one is these kids."

Chifuyu looked at the image, half a dozen high schoolers, and huffed. "Kids? They're at least teenagers."

"Okay," Kotori returned, deciding not to split hairs. "Anyway, a girl who lived nearby said they took her dog. Their bodies were found with bats and rocks."

"So psychopathic lives cut short," Reiri remarked.

"What about the dog?" Chifuyu interjected.

"She said it showed up later that day. Seemingly unharmed," the redhead answered.

Reiri nodded in approval. "Then I'd say my hypothesis is effectively proven."

"And what might that be?"

"She only kills those deserving of death. And don't act like you don't make such judgments. You judged her being worthy of death as well. It's very clear everyone she's killed have either hurt others already or were an imminent threat to those around them." Reiri then turned to her younger sister directly. "Or perhaps you're afraid of her finding out what you did when you became a Spirit."

Kotori's entire body tensed as she stared silently at her sister.

"Thought so. I wouldn't worry about it. Unlike everyone she's killed so far, what you did was inadvertent. All of her prey purposefully caused harm to others. Like the AST." Reiri blinked in thought before frowning. "Damn. Now I'm slightly concerned for Houki."

Chifuyu nodded in agreement. "Indeed. I suppose we should put Nightmare on the back burner and worry about getting Houki set straight."

"Agreed. We need to find out where the AST is centrally based and prepare to strike."

"Hopefully Origami is sincere in her desire to oppose them."

Reiri nodded in agreement.

* * *

Shidou sighed as he stepped out of the apartment building and looked around. "Right… now what to do…?"

"Shidoouu!" a familiar voice called.

Turning, as expected, Shidou saw Hibiki running up to him. "Huh? What's up Hibiki?"

"Hey, are you busy today?" she asked, slightly out of breath from running.

Shidou shrugged in return. "Not really."

"Great!" Hibiki chirped happily. "Remember that concert I talked about?"

He nodded affirmatively. "Yeah, I do. Why?"

"It's tonight," she explained simply, to which Shidou responded with a simple "ah". After a short pause, Hibiki began fidgeting where she stood with a light blush. "So… can you still go?"

Shidou nodded with a smile. "Yeah, it shouldn't be a problem." ' _Might even bring Tohka or Yoshino along too._ '

Hibiki then pulled out two large tickets from her pocket. "Anyway, Miku bought three tickets. One for me, one for her, and one for you."

Shidou's expectations had been dashed slightly. ' _Those two will be fine without me, I guess. What's the worst that can happen at a concert?_ '

"She said she'd meet us at the stadium, so let's get going."

With a nod he followed her, Hibiki leading him to the train station that took them to the area of the city where the concert was being held, a large, multi-level stadium with a glass roof.

Shidou looked at the line of hundreds, possibly thousands, of people extending out from the stadium's entrance. "That's a really long line… Why is it so long…?"

Hibiki just shrugged as she looked through her phone. "According to Miku, Zwei Wing is extremely popular."

"I see…" he remarked before looking around curiously, "where is she anyway?"

Hibiki looked up from her own phone in concern as she looked around, not seeing her friend. "I don't know… Let me call her."

Shidou just sighed as he waited, pulling his phone out.

"Hey, Miku, where are … What?!" Hibiki suddenly exclaimed, getting Shidou's attention.

"Do I even want to know…?"

"You can't be serious! You're the one who invited us out here!" Hibiki pouted as she hung up. "Apparently Miku's aunt got into an accident and her family's heading to the hospital to check on her."

Shidou hung his head in defeat. "Well… we already came all the way here, so we may as well see the show."

"R – Right."

Shidou's attention was pulled when he felt his phone rumble, seeing a text from Miza.

"Shidou are you at the Zwei Wing Concert?!" it read.

Shidou was somewhat confused by her apparent worry and responded, "Yeah. A friend from school invited me."

"You need to get out of there NOW! Zwei Wing is not what they seem!"

Shidou was growing more confused as he read her messages. "What? They're an idol duo."

After a short silence, Miza seemed to go for a hail Mary. "They're Slayers! Both members, and they only make appearances near high class Savages!"

Shidou's confusion was quickly turning into suspicion. "… How do you know this…?"

There was a long pause as he waited for a response. "I can't tell you."

"Miza," he prodded, resulting in another pause.

"I just can't. Not now."

"Oh, hey, the line's moving!" Hibiki suddenly exclaimed, getting Shidou's attention.

"I – I see," he stammered before sending Miza one last text. "Going into the Concert."

* * *

In a darkened room, a purple-haired figure silently looked at a dim screen. "Shidou… You idiot… They will get you killed…"

* * *

Shidou groaned as he squeezed into a seat with Hibiki. ' _There's so many people… All to listen to some song… Hopefully it's a good one…_ '

"Oh, it's starting!" Hibiki exclaimed as lights flared to life above the stage and two figures descended from above.

"Whoa…" Shidou gasped as the two landed on the stage.

The first was a woman with long, wild, dark orange hair that flare out behind her, matching burning orange eyes, clad in a pink and white, frilled uniform with an angel-like wing on one side, the outfit barely containing her ample bust.

The second was a slightly younger woman with long, straight blue hair and dark purple eyes in an outfit matching the first woman's, though with blue accents rather than orange, and a wing emerging from the opposite side.

"Beautiful…"

Hibiki, seemingly unaware of Shidou's awe, nodded in agreement. "Yeah… Miku told me the one in blue is Tsubasa, and the one in pink is Kanade. They make up the duo Zwei Wing." She then shook her head as she handed a glowstick to Shidou. "Oh, here. I bought these glowsticks, everyone else is swinging theirs."

"Ah, right," he muttered before cracking his, causing it to light up bright orange.

As the two begin singing and dancing along the long, cross-shaped stage, the lights on the roof of the stadium flickering and pulsing, Shidou watched, drawn in by their voices.

"Whoa… their singing is incredible… and… soothing…"

Suddenly, as their first song reached its conclusion, the roof of the stadium began to split and splayed open like an immense set of wings, numerous lights shining brightly on the structures, pulsing softly.

Shidou frowned slightly as he looked at the structures. "… That's weird… I can almost feel… energy coming from them… But…" he trailed off as he shook his head, suddenly feeling fatigued, "something isn't right…"

Kanade came to a stop with a twirl, smirking proudly next to Tsubasa. "We're not done yet!" she called to the audience, eliciting cheers from the thousands of people gathered around the duo.

Shidou watched uncomfortably, the sense of unease growing stronger and stronger until, finally, suddenly, the pillar at the center of the stage collapsed, the middle of the stadium exploding violently with dust and pieces of stone flying in all directions.

Kanade and Tsubasa's singing stopped immediately as the audience members began panicking and running from the center of the area.

Shidou paled as several Savages of varying types began emerging from the hole. Some that looked like giant bugs, others that resembled humanoid blobs, others resembling pointed birds. At the center of them all was an immense, four-legged, segmented creature resembling a giant worm with horns. "… A Savage…!"

Shidou watched in horror as many of the bird-like Savages coiled themselves into spears and dove at the concertgoers, impaling them and causing them to dissolve into dust. He was pulled from his stupor when the large worm spat out a flood of green ooze that morphed into countless more Savages that attacked the people around them. Realizing what was going on, he grabbed Hibiki by the arm. "Hibiki, you need to get out of here!"

The girl was, however, too terrified and confused to even move.

Shidou's attention was pulled from his friend when he heard a soft song emanate from nearby and turned to see Kanade enveloped in light before it formed into a sleek, orange and white IS with a massively long, arrow-tipped lance.

Tsubasa began uttering a similar song, clad in a blue and black IS with a long katana.

Shidou was most perplexed by the fact the Savages suddenly slowed down, their movements becoming sluggish and forced as the two began plowing through the monsters. ' _What… is with this song…?_ '

Kanade dove at a large group of Savages, still calling out her song, and landed on the ground hard, launching them into the air and slashing, sending out a blast of wind that smashed the monsters to pieces, Tsubasa carving through other Savages with incredible speed.

' _… They… really are Slayers… I need answers from Miza after this._ '

"What… is going on…?" Hibiki intoned, too shocked to comprehend what she was seeing.

Shidou saw from his perch as the worm began to position itself to strike Kanade and instinctually began to move towards her, only to see several more bird Savages coil into spears and dive at him as he ran. "Shit!" he cursed as he dove out of the way, narrowly avoiding the monsters.

Kanade snarled as she saw Shidou and Hibiki come under attack from the airborne Savages and began twirling her lance at high speeds, creating a powerful twister that slammed into the attacking monsters, tossed them into the air, before crushing them to pieces.

Shidou stopped in his tracks as he watched the girls fight with awe. ' _… I need an IS that powerful…_ '

Tsubasa planted her feet firmly and swung her blade with all her might, sending out a large, crescent-shaped blade of blue energy that carved through more Savages, including several oversized insect types.

Kanade reached the end of the song she was singing, impaling a large Bug before watching as the light emanating from her IS began to fade. "Shit, is that my limit…?" she hissed.

Shidou frowned as he heard her words. "What the…?" He did not have time to try and understand as one of the Birds dove from above, narrowly missing Hibiki, but causing the seats around her to explode apart, sending her flying. "Hibiki!" he cried out as he towards her, leaping and catching her as she fell, though he hit the ground harshly.

"Ow…" Hibiki whimpered as she looked at her leg, bruised and bleeding, before noticing Shidou underneath her. "Sh – Shidou!?"

Coughing roughly, Shidou sat up and looked at the terrified girl. "Y – You okay, Hibiki?"

"I – I think my knee is sprained–wait, forget about that, what about you?!" she began to answer before forcing herself to refocus midsentence.

"I'm fine," he retorted with a cough as he stood. Hearing a howl, he looked up as two more massive Worms emerged from the ground.

"Run!" Kanade demanded as she cut down several of the large, slug-like Savages.

Shidou frowned firmly as he watched the battle unfold. ' _I can't though… if I do Hibiki will die!_ '

Kanade stopped as she saw several humanoid Savages along with several Birds charging towards Shidou and Hibiki, their bodies seemingly melting and shooting towards the two like arrows. Acting instantly, Kanade jumped in the way of the attacks, deflecting several of them, but a few of the beasts managed to hit her, causing cracks to start forming on her armor.

"Kanade!" Tsubasa cried out as she saw the damage Kanade was taking.

Shidou clenched his fists angrily as he watched Kanade deflect and get pummeled by even more of the monsters. ' _Damn it… Why…?_ ' He cursed his inability to fight as he watched helplessly.

"Damn you…!" Kanade cursed as she began twirling her lance, creating a large windmill of blades that carved up or smashed any Savages that tried to get past her, receiving even more hits in the process, resulting in large chunks of her armor getting destroyed.

"Stop…" Shidou begged desperately.

Three Bugs jumped over her head to get past her. "Oh no you don't!" Kanade challenged as she leapt up, impaling one of the beasts, spinning midair and slamming her foot down the other, before aiming for the third.

However, before she could land a decisive blow, it pummeled her with its large pincer, shattering even more of her armor before sending her crashing to the stands below, sending large fragments of her armor flying.

"Stop fighting, you're going to die!" Shidou cried out, before stopping as he felt a familiar wet heat on his chest. Looking down, he realized one of the chunks of Kanade's armor had shot straight through him. Any concern he had for himself was stopped when he heard a weak cough from behind him.

He turned in horror as he saw the piece of armor sticking out of Hibiki's chest, blood staining her blouse before she collapsed to the ground.

Shidou's eyes went wide with horror. "No… HIBIKI!"

"Sh – Shidou…?" the girl asked weakly as Shidou ran towards her.

Kanade grit her teeth when she saw the injured girl. Punching another Humanoid rushing at her, she made a mad dash towards Hibiki. "Hey, come on! Don't die! Open your eyes!"

Shidou stared at the girl in shock before slowly turning his attention to the army of monsters locked in combat around him. "… Why…?"

"Get out of my way dammit!" Tsubasa howled as she slashed through several Savages, trying to get to Kanade and the others, but getting overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

Kanade looked around her at the ever-increasing army of monsters and slowly stood up, taking her lance and tapping the end on the ground, resulting in the tip flaring open.

Shidou stood in stiffened shock, his only reaction being a stare of pure hatred aimed towards the Savages. Unnoticed by anyone, including Shidou himself, particles of light began fluttering and condensing in his hand.

Kanade began making her way towards the roaring monsters slowly, smirking. "At one time… all I wanted was to sing with an empty body and soul. Look how many came to listen today. That's why it's time for my ultimate performance." As she raised her lance into the air, her IS began to disintegrate, forming into particles on the wind. "Now then…" She began singing a low, somber tune that filled the area with bright purple light and made the Savages slow down even further, practically to a standstill.

Realizing what was happening, Tsubasa's face paled with horror. "No, Kanade! Don't sing that! Stop!"

Shidou turned his attention to Kanade, enraptured by her song.

Behind him, Hibiki opened her eyes weakly. "I can hear… something… a song…" She then heard Kanade's voice speaking in her mind.

"Yeah… this is my final song… the one that will burn my life away…"

Shidou stumbled where he stood, a hand gripping his head in pain as he felt heat fill his body, unaware of the light taking the form of a sword hilt in his right hand.

As Kanade's song continued, a burst of energy suddenly shot outward in all directions, colliding with and vaporizing every single Savage in the area, turning them all to dust.

Tsubasa jumped to her feet and sprinted towards her partner. "KANADE!"

Kanade just looked at the vaporized Savages and smiled as blood dripped from her mouth before she collapsed to the ground, Tsubasa barely managing to catch her as she fell.

"N – No! Not you too!"

Shidou's consciousness waned as the pain in his head reached its peak, but he retained it long enough to watch as Kanade turned to ashes in Tsubasa's arms.

"Tsubasa… think Miku is… waiting…?" Kanade asked weakly as she disappeared.

Tsubasa forced a smile on her face and nodded, despite her tears. "Yeah, I'm sure she is…"

Kanade nodded weakly with her own smile as she finally vanished. "Right… Then I'll… see you later…"

Shidou watched faintly as Tsubasa collapsed on herself crying. "… Dammit…" he cursed before everything went black.

* * *

Opening his eyes weakly, Shidou saw the familiar sight of the ceiling of Fraxinus' med-bay. "Never… going… to another concert…" he groaned as his senses returned to him, before he finally remembered everything that had happened, causing him to sit up in a panic. "Hibiki! Hibiki where are you?!"

His words were silenced when Reine, sitting beside his bed, put a finger on his mouth to quiet him, before pointing next to him.

Shidou turned and saw Hibiki, unconscious and with an oxygen mask on her face, sitting in the bed next to him. "She… she's alive…" As that concern assuaged itself somewhat, he turned to Reine with another. "What about those girls?"

Before Reine could answer him, the door to the med-bay swung open as Reiri rushed in.

Shidou immediately laid back down, trying to pretend he was asleep. Reiri, however, grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up. ' _Crap!_ ' However, his mind completely short-circuited when Reiri pulled him close and wrapped her arms around him tightly. Shidou's brain remained blank for several moments before he managed to get it moving again, barely. "… S – Sis?"

Pulling away from him with a smile Shidou wasn't accustomed to seeing, Reiri sighed heavily. "I'm glad you're okay. I had no idea Ryoko was testing that fossil today, or I would've stopped you from going."

"Huh? Who? What?"

Reiri pulled a stool up to his bed and sat down. "I wasn't planning on telling you yet, but I guess you basically know now."

"Know what…?"

"Those girls are…" she trailed off with a wince before correcting herself, "were, Slayers."

His eyes widened as numerous realizations hit him. "So… Miza was telling the truth…"

It was Reiri who had the look of surprise of her face this time. "Miza knew?"

Shidou flinched as he realized he said that out loud but decided to just nod rather than trying to lie around it. "… Yes. She texted me warning me not to go to it."

Reiri frowned suspiciously as she narrowed her eyes in thought.

"I'll figure that out later. Who's Ryoko, and what's this fossil you're talking about?"

Reiri nodded as she began explaining. "Right… Ryoko Sakurai. She leads the Little Garden program focused on fighting the Savages. She's the one who discovered their weakness to certain frequencies of sound and developed modified IS technology to utilize it. What we were hoping for was that Kanade and Tsubasa's song was going to destroy an ancient, fossilized Savage we had found, since all manner of conventional weapons; guns, bombs, missiles, even nukes, failed to do anything. But instead their song seemed to wake it up, and ended up costing Kanade her life."

Shidou shot his sister a glare of indignation as he shot back, "Not just her, those things killed so many people! Why would you have them sing at a concert like that if you know that could happen?!"

Reiri winced slightly at the words from her brother before sighing. "Shidou, you know the connection you're able to form with Spirits that absorbs their power?"

"H – Huh? Yeah…" he muttered, somewhat perplexed by the connection.

Reiri nodded in recognition. "The reverse phenomenon is also possible. IS Cores operate under that principle. Most Cores have a separate power generator they absorb their energy from. That energy is mana. When IS users are able to enrapture others in some way, form a mental and emotional link, they're able to absorb mana from them, which we can store and give out to the mass-produced units."

"I see…" he mumbled, following her reasoning but still unhappy with it.

"I readily admit, obtaining mana to power our IS in such a way is underhanded at best. The only alternative would be for the Cores to absorb mana from their Slayers, and most humans don't have enough mana on their own to power an IS for more than a few minutes. Get thousands of people in one place, all with a shared sense of wonder, with a singular emotional and mental focus, and the amount of mana we can obtain, without doing any harm to the audience, is enough to power most of our units for several days each. Though, I am working on a plan that would allow this method to be fully retired. One more filling for the Slayers too."

Shidou frowned in confused frustration. "I see… well hopefully it works out, I don't like innocent people being put in danger like that."

Nodding in understanding, Reiri shrugged as she retorted, "Innocent people are put in danger all the time. It's part of the risk known as life. Death is the only way to fully avoid danger."

Shidou's fist curled with frustration as he looked at them helplessly. "I know, but I'd like to reduce that risk as much as possible for others…"

Sighing, Reiri put a hand on his shoulder gently. "What happened yesterday was no one's fault. Just very bad luck."

Shidou's shoulders began to tremble as he sat, his frustration finally reaching a peak he could not contain. "I hate this…"

Reiri winced at the sight of her brother breaking down but maintained her composure. "Hate what?"

"Feeling so helpless… useless… I'm never able to help when people are in danger. The one time I tried my IS got trashed… it's…" he trailed off as his teeth clenched and ground together, "infuriating…"

Reiri tensed her fingers as she spoke. "… It will be fixed soon. The weapon Chifuyu and I have been making for you is almost done."

Suddenly, an out of breath and sweating Twoearl stumbled into the room carrying a long black box. "Is he awake!?"

Reiri turned to her with mild annoyance. "Yes, but his roommate is not, so keep your voice down."

Sighing, out of both relief and exhaustion, the silver-haired woman made her way to Shidou's bed. "I came here as quick as I could…"

"Why?" Reiri asked, genuinely confused.

Smirking, Twoearl held up the box in her hand. "I have something for Shidou. Something he will just love."

Reiri raised an intrigued eyebrow.

* * *

 **And finito! Thus ends the seventh chapter of Armored Spirits. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, be sure to let me know with a review if you did. If you were confused, uncertain, or simply had questions on anything, leave a review with your concerns and I will do what I can to address them in the next reviewer response. As for new characters, again, if any you don't recognize were introduced, let me know and I will tell you what they are from. That said, if you did not enjoy it, leave a review if you must, but I would recommend a better use of your time instead. Well, enough babbling from my end, until next time, bye-bye!**


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